California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, a law mandating additional safeguards for minors on social media. The bill, AB 2273, passed the state legislature in August, and it’s slated to go into effect on July 1st, 2024.
AB 2273’s supporters pitched it as a supplement to federal online child protection laws, which apply to children under 13. The law raises the age bar to 18, and it covers web services “likely” to get underage visitors, not just those aimed at kids. These sites must assess the potential harms for children on their platform, limit data collection and sharing for these users, and attempt to estimate the age of children on the platform. A press release from Newsom’s office...
