SACRAMENTO – The Kids Code Coalition today applauded California Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature of AB 2246, which strengthens California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, and AB 1709, which prohibits addictive design features for users under 16:
“As young people, parents, families, and community members across the state who have urged leaders to protect our kids online, we thank Governor Newsom and our legislators, led by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, for standing up and taking real action. In 2022, we worked with California lawmakers to pass the first Age-Appropriate Design Code in the country, and Big Tech has spent every year since trying to litigate it out of existence instead of working to mitigate risk and improve young people’s experiences. Today, California’s legislators answered by making the Kids Code even stronger and by turning off the addictive features and feeds designed to exploit young people. As Big Tech continues to accelerate harm to young people through their exploitative business model, we are thankful that these laws will make a real difference for California’s young people and our future,” said coalition member Nikki Iyer, Co-Chair of Design It For Us and a student at UC Berkeley.
About California’s Kids Code 2.0 (AB 2246)
Online platforms purposely design their products to keep kids on screens, track kids’ activity, and then monetize the data they collect to increase profits, no matter the cost to California kids and families. AB 2246, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, fortifies and strengthens the California Age-Appropriate Design Code by requiring companies to implement privacy-by-default and safety-by-design protections for kids online, take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable risks of harm to children, and avoid manipulative design. The law authorizes the Attorney General and public prosecutors to enforce those obligations.
About AB 1709
AB 1709, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, is a bipartisan bill that stops covered platforms from providing design addictive features to users under 16. The bill defines addictive features to include an addictive feed, autoplay, and other design features to prolong engagement, adopted through rulemaking authority from the Attorney General. Rather than barring young people from online spaces altogether, the bill deactivates the design features that hook them, in line with recent United Nations recommendations to make platforms safer for children instead of shutting them out. It also establishes an e-Safety Advisory Commission within the Department of Justice to advise the Attorney General on online safety, evaluate age assurance technologies, gather input from parents and youth, and report annually to the Legislature and the Governor.
About the Kids Code Coalition
The Kids Code Coalition is a wide-ranging group of national and state organizations dedicated to improving youth online security and privacy by supporting policies that ensure companies prioritize kids’ and teens’ safety and developmental needs when designing digital platforms and products.
###