Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act

Protecting Kids from Social Media Addiction Act
California State Legislature
Long title Califronia SB 976
Territorial extent	State of California
Enacted by	State of California
Enacted	September 20, 2024
Signed by	Governor Gavin Newsom
Signed	September 20, 2024
Legislative history
Introduced by	Nancy Skinner
Introduced	January 29, 2024
Second reading	April 25, 2024
Third reading	May 20, 2024
Voting summary	35 voted for 2 voted against
Second reading	August 20, 2024
Third reading	August 31, 2024
Voting summary	47 voted for 4 voted against
Struck down by
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit pending appeal
Keywords
social media
Status: Struck down

Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act also known as California SB 976 is a law that was enacted in September 2024 that is meant to address problematic social media usage among minors. The law prohibitions minors to have "addictive feeds" unless they have verifiable parental consent, minor's notifications are also restricted between 12 am to 6 am and during school hours between 8 am and 3 pm it also well requires minors to have default privacies settings and have social media companies to publicly disclose certain metrics about their users. The law was set to take effect in two steps the first being the restrictions on social media feeds, notifications, disclosures from social media companies and default settings which would have taken effect on January 1, 2025, and the age verification provision which would have taken effect on January 1, 2027. However, has faced legal challenges since its enactment delaying its enactment. ^{[1] [2]}

Legal Challenges

For the legal challenge regarding the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction, see NetChoice v. Bonta.

In November 2024 NetChoice a trade association representing many of the biggest social media companies such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram sued the attorney general of California Rob Bonta hoping to get an injunction before the first set of the law's provisions would take effect in January of the next year. However, judge Edward Davila would only grant Netchoice's request as to the restrictions on notifications and public disclosures and would deny their request as to the rest of the law. The law was later fully enjoined temporarily by the District Court and Appellant Court pending appeal, and the case is now in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and is pending a decision. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

References

1. Bill Text - SB-976 Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act.
2. Newsom signs bill to regulate social media use among children | CNN Politics
3. Tech lobbyists sue Calif. attorney general over law protecting kids from social media addiction | Courthouse News Service
4. US judge partially blocks California law restricting social media notifications to minors | Daily Journal
5. Ninth Circuit blocks California law protecting kids from social media addiction | Courthouse News Service