Social-media names face liability as California weighs bill over addicting children
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A first-of-its-kind bill governing social media faces a key vote Tuesday in California, and it could pave the way to sue companies over features that allegedly harm children through addiction.
A state Senate committee is taking up a bill that would allow the state's attorney general, local district attorneys and attorneys for the four largest cities to sue companies including Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Snap (NYSE:SNAP), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and TikTok (BDNCE) if it were believed that the companies used features it knew or should have known would be addictive to minors.
The charges would fall under California's laws covering unfair business practices.
And in its earlier form, passed by the state Assembly in May, parents would have been able to sue the companies as well. That ability was restricted to government attorneys after lobbying from business and tech industry groups, a spokesman for the bill's author told WSJ.
Critics of the measure say any liability couldn't be contained to California and that social-media platforms could eventually face hundreds of millions of dollars in liability.
The measure was expected to see a vote in the state Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday; if that's successful, it would head next to the state Senate Appropriations Committee and from there to the full Senate.