Attorney General Bonta Secures Early Win Defending Law Protecting Children from Online Addiction

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement in response to a Ninth Circuit ruling that allows most of SB 976 (Skinner) to become effective while litigation in this case proceeds. SB 976 limits the ability of social media companies and other website operators to use harmful, addictive algorithmic feeds, notifications, and other addictive design features to keep children and teens glued to the companies' platforms for hours. In response to SB 976, a trade association for technology companies - the same companies that commit tremendous resources to design platforms to keep kids glued to the screen - challenged California's efforts to make the internet less addictive for children. The Ninth Circuit held that the trade association's challenge is likely to fail. While some parts of SB 976 remain enjoined, the ruling allows the other requirements of this law to come into effect.

"We are pleased the court has allowed the majority of SB 976's requirements to come into effect. Our children cannot wait. Companies have blatantly shown us that they are willing to use addictive design features, including algorithmic feeds and notifications at all hours of the day and night, to target children and teens, solely to increase their profits," said Attorney General Bonta. "Through the passage of SB 976, California's elected representatives sent a strong message: It's time to put families in control. We remain confident in the underlying case and are committed to enforcing this law and continuing to vigorously defend it in court."

BACKGROUND

Excessive time spent online is associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, susceptibility to addiction, and interference with daily life - including learning. Every additional hour young people spend online is associated with an increased severity in symptoms of depression.

California's own investigations and lawsuits against Meta and TikTok have helped paint a full picture of the scope and intentionality of this public health crisis. California's lawsuits against Meta and TikTok both claim that the social media giants intentionally designed their platforms to addict young people so they would spend longer on the platforms, to the detriment of their mental and physical health. For example, TikTok knew the harm that could come from young people using its platforms and designed the platform to include features that they knew were uniquely psychologically and physically harmful to young users to keep young people compulsively returning and staying longer.