California lawmakers on Thursday rejected a proposal that could have forced some popular social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to pay fines for using features they know can harm children.
The bill would have let the state attorney general or other local prosecutors sue social media companies for as much as $250,000 per violation for knowingly using features that can cause children to become addicted to their products.
It was one of the most watched pieces of legislation in California this year, as it could have forced social media companies to make broad changes that would affect users across their platforms.
Supporters said rules were necessary to protect children from companies that turn a blind eye to the harm caused to children’s mental health when they become addicted to social media platforms they say are designed to manipulate their developing brains.
California’s influential tech industry worked for months to defeat the bill, arguing that it would do little to improve child safety while causing social media companies to ban all children from their platforms.
“As we’ve said from the start, protecting children online is a priority but must be done responsibly and effectively,” said Dylan Hoffman, executive director for California and the Southwest of TechNet, a group of technology chief executives and senior executives that opposed the bill. “We’re glad to see that this bill won’t move forward in its current form. If it had, companies would’ve been punished for simply having a platform that kids can access.”
Thursday, the bill failed to pass a key legislative committee, the final step required before a vote could happen in the state Senate. It’s not clear why the bill did not pass. It had passed the state Assembly and other legislative committees earlier this year without a dissenting vote.
State Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo and the author of the bill, blamed its demise on the committee chair, Democratic state Sen. Anthony Portantino of La Canada Flintridge. His office did not respond to an email requesting comment.
“I am extremely disappointed,” Cunningham said. “The bill’s death means a handful of social media companies will be able to continue their experiment on millions of California kids, causing generational harm.”
The bill was a casualty of what’s known in the Legislature as the “suspense file,” a list of bills that must first be vetted by the powerful appropriations committees before they can proceed in the Legislature.
After weeks of public hearings, on Thursday the appropriations committees in the state Assembly and state Senate voted on 814 bills in just a few hours, with no discussion or explanation. When it was over, 612 bills advanced while 202 were held in committee, essentially killing them for the year, said Chris Micheli, a veteran lobbyist who tracks the committees’ actions.