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AB-2 Social media platforms: injuries to children: civil penalties.(2025-2026)



Current Version: 12/02/24 - Introduced

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AB2:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2

Introduced by Assembly Member Lowenthal

December 02, 2024

An act relating to social media platforms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2, as introduced, Lowenthal. Social media platforms: injuries to children: civil penalties.
Existing law provides that everyone is responsible not only for the result of their willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would make a social media platform liable for specified civil penalties in addition to any other remedy provided by law, if the platform fails to exercise ordinary care or skill toward a child.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The people of the State of California find as follows:
(a) Subdivision (a) of Section 1714 of the Civil Code already makes every person and corporation, including social media platforms, financially responsible for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person.
(b) Children are uniquely vulnerable on social media platforms.
(c) The biggest social media platforms invent and deploy features they know injure large numbers of children, including contributing to child deaths.
(d) The costs of these injuries are unfairly being paid by parents, schools, and taxpayers, not the platforms.
(e) This act is necessary to ensure that the social media platforms that are knowingly causing the most severe injuries to the largest number of children receive heightened damages to prevent injury from occurring to children in the first place.

SEC. 2.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would make a social media platform liable for specified civil penalties in addition to any other remedy provided by law, if the platform fails to exercise ordinary care or skill toward a child.