LOS ANGELES — California parents whose children become addicted to social media apps would be able to sue for damages under a bill advanced Tuesday in the state Assembly by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers.
Assembly Bill 2408, or the Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act, was introduced by Republican Jordan Cunningham of Paso Robles and Democrat Buffy Wicks of Oakland with support from the University of San Diego School of Law Children's Advocacy Institute. It's the latest in a string of legislative and political efforts to crack down on social media platforms' exploitation of their youngest users.
"I don't know why all of us — society and the kids — have to pay the cost" of the "the social media addiction epidemic that we've got going on with our teenagers," Cunningham told Politico. "It seems like that cost should be borne at least in part by the companies that profit from the behavior."
Press materials from the Children's Advocacy Institute explain that the bill would first obligate social media companies to not addict child users — if necessary amending their design features and data collection practices — and then empower parents and guardians to pursue legal action in the name of any children injured by companies that fail to comply.
Damages could include $1,000 or more per child in a class-action suit, or up to $25,000 per child per year in a civil penalty, the Institute continued.
However, it added, there would also be a safe harbor provision that would protect "responsible" social media platforms from being penalized if they took "basic steps to avoid addicting children."
According to the Children's Advocacy Institute, the bill will be heard by the State Assembly's Judiciary Committee this spring.
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