California Weighs New Regulations To Prevent Child Social Media Addiction

State is home to many social media companies and the world’s fifth-largest economy, with its regulations often influencing behavior of entire industries.

The California Department of Justice will hold a hearing next week to take public comment on a proposed rule designed to protect minors from exploitation and addiction by online platforms, including social media sites like Facebook and TikTok.

In September 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed bill SB-976, the “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act” into law, which requires the state’s attorney general to put in place new regulations and standards for verifying the age of participants on social media and other online platforms, and require parental consent for minors to use those platforms and social media sites.

The law was passed in response to growing concerns over the design of social media platforms, which critics say use algorithms and illegally obtained personal data to intentionally promote compulsive use among children and teens, contributing to widespread mental health, developmental and behavioral issues.

These fears have led to a growing number of social media addiction lawsuits filed in courts nationwide, with California being a key nexus of activity, given the number of social media sites that use the state as their headquarters. In addition, all federal social media claims have been consolidated in the Northern District of California under U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

California is also the world’s fifth largest economy, meaning that regulations that impact business conducted in that state often affect entire industries, resulting in changes that benefit consumers nationwide.

In a press release issued on October 23, the California DOJ announced it will hold a public meeting on November 5 to take comments on the implementation of the new Act, and the state is accepting those comments personally or virtually.

Specifically, state officials are seeking comments on what methods and standards should be used for age assurance on social media and other platforms, what obligations should be imposed on sites to ensure and verify the age of users, and on parental consent for use of online platforms by minors.

The hearing is being held at the Elihu Harris Auditorium, at 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612 or by Zoom, at https://doj-ca.zoomgov.com/j/1601800896, beginning at 1:00 p.m. PT. Attendees will be given about three minutes to speak, though that may change depending on the number of those in attendance. Public comments can also be submitted by email to sb976@doj.ca.gov.

Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

While Judge Rogers is overseeing social media addiction lawsuits at the federal level, there are also numerous claims filed in California state court as well, which have been consolidated before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl.

Both judges are leading the parties through coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, and have planned to hold early test cases, known as “bellwether” trials. While the results of these trials will not be binding on the other claims, these test cases will be closely watched by lawyers on both sides.

The first social media addiction trial is scheduled to be held in California state court under Judge Kuhl. Originally scheduled to go before a jury next month, the trial, involving claims by plaintiff Heaven Moore, has been delayed due to changes in the case.

It was replaced by a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff identified only as K.G.M., which will begin jury selection on January 27, 2026.

For the federal cases, Judge Rogers announced in September that the first federal social media addiction trial will involve claims by school districts, who say they have had to spend tremendous resources to deal with the fallout of social media addiction, which negatively affects youths’ education and mental health, requiring tutoring and therapy resources to address.

If, after state and federal bellwether trials have concluded, the parties have not reached a settlement agreement or other resolution, Judge Rogers and Judge Kuhl will likely begin remanding the cases back to their originating federal district for individual trial dates.

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