SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Washington Insider Magazine) – Parents would no longer be able to sue well-known platforms like TikTok and Instagram under a groundbreaking measure in the California Legislature that would make social media corporations accountable for injuring children who have gotten addicted to their products.
Social media businesses would still be subject to fines of up to $250,000 per infraction under the amended proposal if they employ features that can lead to minors developing addictions. However, it would restrict who might file cases against social media companies—only prosecutors, not parents. According to a Thursday article from CalMatters, the law was changed last month.
The bill’s architect, Republican Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, claimed he made the adjustment to ensure that the legislation would receive enough support in the state Senate, where he claimed many lawmakers were reluctant to introduce new forms of litigation.
The updated legislation may have more support in the state legislature, but it hasn’t won over social media corporations, many of which are headquartered in California and continue to oppose it. According to TechNet, a group of technology CEOs and top executives, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between social media content, including user-uploaded videos, photos, and text, and the features that companies use to deliver that content, such as newsfeeds, push notifications, and the capacity to endlessly scroll through posts.
A number of new features have been added by social media firms to address what Dylan Hoffman, TechNet’s executive director for California and the Southwest, termed a “really difficult and complex issue” of youngsters using social media. On several platforms, parents may restrict their children’s screen time or turn off particular features.
If social media businesses do quarterly assessments of their features and delete any harmful items within 30 days of finding they lead to minors developing addictions, the measure would exclude them from these lawsuits.
Hoffman claims that would provide businesses with little protection since advocates contend that practically every aspect of a social media app or website—including the newsfeed and algorithms that recommend content—is addictive.
Hoffman claimed it would be “impossible” for companies to take down their whole websites in 30 days in order to avoid responsibility.
Cunningham dismisses that argument, claiming that the legislation will encourage social media corporations to enforce their own rules in order to avoid fines. According to him, consumer protection rules that permit consumers to sue businesses for marketing unsafe products are applicable to the majority of other items.
According to ABC NEWS, the bill is only one of several legislative initiatives this year aimed at social media corporations.
A measure by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks would impose requirements on companies when they advertise to youngsters online.
Sen. Tom Umberg’s proposed legislation would allow Californians who were the victim of a violent social media post to request a judge’s order to have the post taken down.
Additionally, Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat in the Assembly, has proposed a measure that would compel social media firms to publicly publish their practices for deleting harmful content and provide specific information about how and when they did so.
