California Bans Addictive Features for Users Under 16

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1709, prohibiting social media platforms from offering features deemed addictive to users under 16, officially recognized as the first law of its kind in the U.S. The signing ceremony took place in Marin County, along with over ten other child online safety bills.

The law specifically names features such as algorithmic recommendation feeds based on user history and profiles, infinite scrolling, and autoplay. Platforms that continue to serve this age group must first verify age and provide versions without the aforementioned features; if they do not offer a non-addictive version, they must delete accounts for users under 16. Earlier drafts proposed banning social media use for those under 16, but the signed text narrowed the focus to regulating features, not access. The law is set to take effect next year.

Also signed was "Adam’s Law," which targets companion chatbots, requiring crisis protocols for suicidal ideation, parental controls, notifications when safety settings are disabled, and mandatory independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments, which officials claim is the strictest regulation on companion robots in the U.S. Additional provisions require disclosing to underage users that their conversation partner is not human and expand child sexual exploitation laws to include digitally altered and AI-generated images of minors.

Newsom stated that parents cannot compete with engineering and algorithms, and the legislation targets scrolling and recommendations themselves, rather than adopting a blanket ban like Australia. The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposes AB 1709, arguing that the definition of "addictive features" is too broad, effectively creating a functional ban for those under 16, which would cut off access to information and community. Tech industry groups also argue it could weaken connections with friends and family. Proponent Josh Lowenthal emphasized that the regulation is about product design, not whether users can access the internet.

This comes against the backdrop of state attorneys general reaching a settlement of up to $18 billion with Meta over claims related to youth addiction and mental health. California already has algorithmic recommendation and nighttime notification restrictions set to take effect in 2024, pushing the target from "parent-approved recommendation feeds" to "default settings that turn off autoplay and historical recommendations." No equivalent functional ban has been passed at the federal level.

In market terms, this state law alters products, leading to changes in advertising inventory pricing. Buyers must retain California's underage users on platforms like Meta, TikTok, and YouTube; sellers must adjust recommendation engines and autoplay engineering and compliance teams by age. As attention shifts from infinite feeds to curated lists or chronological streams, programmatic advertising targeting those under 16 will be harder to price based on dwell time. Beneficiaries include age verification and parental control providers; those under pressure include platforms reliant on autoplay and recommendations to extend sessions, as well as those unwilling to create dual products or choose to delete accounts.

On an enforcement level, it will hinge on proving whether recommendations are based on user history and whether autoplay is open to unverified ages. The definition controversy will determine whether this is a functional redesign or a de facto ban.

Source: Public Information