SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers will not advance a bill that would have allowed prosecutors to sue large social media companies for addicting children to online platforms.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday quietly killed Assembly Bill 2408, authored by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, and Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland.
Cunningham and Wicks originally wanted to empower parents to sue big social media companies for employing addictive algorithms and features to hook children and harm their mental health. But an amendment added in late June limited that ability to the Attorney General, district attorneys, county counsels or city attorneys.