{
  "id": 6675577,
  "title": "Did California just ban social media for teens?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/did-california-just-ban-social-media-for-teens",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-11T00:56:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mashable",
    "slug": "mashable",
    "url": "https://mashable.com/tech/california-passes-child-safety-laws-for-social-media-ai"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a series of new tech regulations, including provisions that could effectively ban social media for children under 16. The state joins national governments like Australia in taking a stance against young users accessing social media platforms. The highly anticipated child online safety legislation, including bills AB 1709 and AB 2, aims to strengthen existing child safety laws. These bills place restrictions on harmful features like personalized feeds and video autoplay, as well as hold platforms financially liable for child harm. Child safety advocates and parents have welcomed the legislation, with some families behind it citing the tragic loss of their children to suicide following extensive social media use. The legislation also expands the state's definition of child sexual exploitation to include AI-generated or digitally altered content depicting individuals under 18 engaged in sexual conduct.",
  "summary": "California governor Gavin Newsom signs a package of child safety laws, regulating social media access, AI, and more.",
  "key_points": [
    "California Governor Gavin Newsom signed new tech regulations.",
    "Provisions could effectively ban social media for teens under 16.",
    "Legislation aims to strengthen child safety laws and hold platforms liable."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The new legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom represents a stricter approach to child online safety, holding social media platforms financially liable for harm and restricting features that could be detrimental to young users.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Techmeme",
        "title": "California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills restricting \"addictive\" social media features for under-16s and limiting minors' interactions with chatbots (Colin Lecher/CalMatters)",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/california-gov-gavin-newsom-signs-bills-restricting-addictive-social",
        "published": "2026-09-10T20:55:01.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}