On Thursday, the California State Senate Appropriations Committee halted Assembly Bill 2408 – a bill holding social media services liable for “addicting” teenagers – effectively ending its movement through the legislative process. 

While well intentioned, the bill excluded some forms of digital content including video games and included loopholes for smaller social media platforms that often fail to moderate content as thoroughly as larger sites. The legislation also failed to recognize the positive role that social media plays in teenagers’ lives; would have prompted services to crack down on beneficial content; and threatened to drive kids toward smaller platforms not covered by the bill. Chamber of Progress submitted testimony raising concerns about the bill, and its Senior Director Tepring Piquado spoke about the bill in a radio interview last week. 

“We all care about kids having healthy experiences on social media, but this bill would have made things worse for kids online,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “We’re grateful that the legislature recognized this bill would have unintended consequences, and we hope the committee will continue looking for ways to create safe, healthy experiences for kids online.”

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.