California bans addictive social media features for users under 16

Overview

Updated Sep 12

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 13 child-safety bills on Sept 10 that bar social media platforms from offering addictive features to users under 16. The laws target autoplay and algorithmic feeds built around a user's history and profile. They take effect January 1 unless courts block them.

The package also creates the nation's first comprehensive rules for AI companion chatbots. Adam's Law, named for Adam Raine, a teenager who died by suicide, requires crisis protocols, parental controls, and annual child-safety audits. Chatbots must tell young users when they are not talking to a human.

Why it matters

If the law holds, millions of American teens lose autoplay and algorithmic feeds by default, forcing platforms to redesign for young users.

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Key Indicators

Bills in the child safety package

Signed into law as one package on Sept 10.

Under 16

Age cutoff for the addictive features ban

Platforms can't show autoplay or algorithmic feeds to users under 16.

$18B

Meta's child safety settlement (prior context)

Meta agreed in August 2026 to pay states up to $18 billion to settle child safety lawsuits.

4 years

Ban on AI companion chatbot toys

The package bars manufacturing and selling toys with companion chatbots for four years.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Gavin Newsom

Governor of California

Signed the child safety package on Sept 10, 2026

Adam Raine

Namesake of Adam's Law

Deceased; his suicide inspired the chatbot safety bill

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

California State Assemblymember

Helped craft the child safety package

Josh Lowenthal

California State Assemblymember

Introduced AB 1709

Ed Howard

Senior counsel, Children's Advocacy Institute

Watching enforcement closely

Organizations Involved

California Governor's Office

State government

Signed and now implementing the child safety package

Oversees enforcement and implementation of the new child safety laws.

Children's Advocacy Institute

Public Interest Research Institute

Tracking enforcement effectiveness

University of San Diego research institute focused on child welfare law.

Timeline

August 2026 September 2026

3 events Latest: September 10th, 2026 · 2 months ago

September 2026
Newsom signs 13-bill child safety package
Latest Law

Governor signs laws banning addictive features for under-16s and requiring chatbot safety audits.
September 10th, 2026
AI researchers warn of risk
Statement

Current and former Anthropic and OpenAI researchers warned of existential AI risks.
September 7th, 2026
August 2026
Meta settles child safety lawsuits
Legal

Meta agreed to pay states $18 billion to settle child safety lawsuits.
August 2026

Scenarios

California child-safety laws face court challenge

Uncertain Resolves by Jan 1, 2027

Discussed by: Ed Howard of the Children's Advocacy Institute; legal observers cited by CalMatters

Tech platforms argue algorithmic feeds are protected speech and file suit before the laws take effect. If a federal court grants a preliminary injunction, platforms can keep serving algorithmic content to teens in California while the case proceeds.

Other states copy California's child safety rules

Possible Resolves by Jan 1, 2028

Discussed by: CalMatters; state legislators with active child-safety agendas

Statehouses adopt versions of AB 1709 and Adam's Law, especially where platforms face ongoing lawsuits. A multi-state coalition would pressure platforms to change national defaults rather than customizing per state.

Federal government passes nationwide child safety rules

Unlikely Resolves by Jan 20, 2028

Discussed by: Politico; Gov. Gavin Newsom

Newsom has called on Washington to go beyond California's rules. A national law would preempt the state patchwork and give federal regulators enforcement power, but congressional action on tech regulation has stalled for years.

Age verification failures stall California's under-16 feed ban

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: The Next Web

The feed ban works only if platforms can reliably tell how old users are. Age assurance has failed in every previous attempt, and California's announcement did not specify how it would work or who enforces it.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 2024 – December 2025

Australia's social media under-16 ban (2024-2025)

Australia passed a law in late 2024 banning social media platforms from serving users under 16, among the strictest age-based restrictions anywhere. Platforms faced fines in the tens of millions of dollars for non-compliance.

Then

Platforms said they would comply; age-verification systems drew privacy complaints.

Now

Australia became the reference point for state-led age gating, and several countries followed with similar proposals.

Why this matters now

Shows both the political appeal of age-based platform bans and the messy enforcement that follows.

October 2023 – 2025

UK Online Safety Act (2023)

Britain's law imposed a duty of care on platforms to protect children, with fines up to 10% of global revenue for failures. Ofcom began enforcing it in 2025, requiring platforms to run child-safety risk assessments.

Then

Platforms changed default settings and added age checks; some sued over content definitions.

Now

Set a global template for platform 'duty of care' duties, which California's audit requirements echo.

Why this matters now

Highlights how design-focused regulation works in practice, and the litigation platforms use to delay it.

October 1998 – April 2000

COPPA (1998)

The US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act restricted sites from collecting personal data from kids under 13, requiring parental consent. It took effect in 2000.

Then

Sites added age gates and parental consent flows; enforcement was uneven for years.

Now

COPPA set the baseline for child privacy online but never addressed addictive design or algorithmic recommendation.

Why this matters now

California's package extends the US approach from data privacy into product design, a shift COPPA never made.