California AB 1709
California law barring social media platforms from offering personalized algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll and similar engagement features to users under 16
California AB 1709, by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, bars social media platforms from offering users under 16 a set of design features the law classifies as addictive: personalized algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll and push notifications. Governor Gavin Newsom signed it on 10 September 2026, and it takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Legal Background
California first regulated algorithmic feeds for minors in the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) of 2024, which barred platforms from serving such feeds to minors without parental consent. In NetChoice v. Bonta, the Ninth Circuit in 2025 upheld that law’s feed-consent and default-private-account provisions but struck down a provision hiding like counts from minors as a content-based restriction on speech.
AB 1709 goes further than SB 976. It sets the age line at 16 and removes the parental-consent route: under-16 users may not be offered the restricted features at all. The bill was sponsored by Common Sense Media and passed both houses of the Legislature without a no vote.
Key Provisions
- Restricted features. Covered platforms may not provide personalized algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll, push notifications or similar engagement features to users under 16.
- Feature-free version or none. Platforms may still offer accounts to younger users, but only without those features; a platform that cannot offer such a version must stop serving under-16 users.
- Age determination. Platforms must determine a user’s age through the system set up by the state’s Digital Age Assurance Act before serving the restricted features.
- Oversight. The law creates an e-Safety Advisory Commission within the California Department of Justice.
- Enforcement. The Attorney General or local prosecutors may seek civil penalties of up to $50,000 per affected minor for knowing violations and $25,000 for negligent ones.
Responses
Common Sense Media, the bill’s sponsor, applauded Newsom’s signature. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called the bill “well-intentioned, but deeply flawed,” arguing that it would effectively create a full ban and cut younger users off from information. An analysis published before the signing argued that the account-deletion requirement gives platforms an incentive to verify the age of every user, and that removing the parental-consent route takes the law beyond what the Ninth Circuit upheld in SB 976. Meta defended its tailoring of content as delivering age-appropriate content for teens.
The law was signed as part of a package that also included SB 1119, on AI companion chatbots, and AB 1856, which amended the Digital Age Assurance Act’s age-signal requirements.
Sources
- 01.
Office of the Governor of California. Governor Newsom signs the strongest child safety chatbot and social media laws in the nation. (2026). Dated 10 September 2026. Source for the signing date and for AB 1709's author, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, and its title (covered platforms: age restriction: e-Safety Advisory Commission).
- 02.
Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media Applauds Governor Newsom's Signature of AB 1709. (2026). Dated 10 September 2026. Statement by the bill's sponsor. Source for the restriction on personalized feeds and autoplay for users under 16, the 1 January 2027 effective date, the age-verification requirement under the Digital Age Assurance Act, the penalties ($50,000 per affected minor for knowing violations, $25,000 for negligent ones) enforceable by the Attorney General or local prosecutors, and passage without a no vote in either house.
- 03.
Lecher, C. (2026). California enacts laws restricting chatbots, protecting kids online. Published 10 September 2026. Source for the law requiring social media companies to either stop offering features such as infinite scroll and autoplay to users under 16 or exclude those users, and for the Electronic Frontier Foundation's description of the bill as 'well-intentioned, but deeply flawed' and its argument that it would effectively create a full ban.
- 04.
Myrow, R. (2026). Gov. Newsom Signs Sweeping New Rules for Online Child Safety. Published 10 September 2026. Corroborates the bar on addictive engagement features for users under 16 and passage without a no vote; source for Meta's statement defending algorithmic tailoring of content for teens.
- 05.
Kelley Drye & Warren (Ad Law Access). California's 2026 Legislative Session Wraps: A Wave of Privacy and AI Bills Reaches the Governor, With Key Child Safety and AI Measures Signed Into Law. (2026). Published 14 September 2026. Source for the list of addictive features (personalized algorithmic feeds, autoplay, push notifications), the e-Safety Advisory Commission and the $50,000-per-minor penalty; also covers the same legislative package's SB 1119 (AI companion chatbots) and AB 1856 (amending the Digital Age Assurance Act's age-signal requirements), signed the same day.
- 06.
People of Internet. California's AB 1709 Goes Further Than the Law Courts Just Upheld — And That's the Problem. (2026). Published 5 September 2026, before signing; an analysis critical of the bill. Source for the features covered (algorithmic feeds, autoplay, infinite scroll, notifications), the account-deletion requirement where a feature-free version cannot be offered, the commission's placement within the Department of Justice, the comparison with SB 976 (which let parents consent to algorithmic feeds for minors), and the Ninth Circuit's NetChoice v. Bonta ruling upholding SB 976's feed-consent and default-private-account provisions while striking its like-count provision.
Filter Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2020s | |
| 2026 SEP 10 | |
2 Nodes • 1 Connections