A much-anticipated bill allowing parents to sue social media firms over their addictive features for children was rejected by California legislators.
Miami Herald reported that the Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act (AB 2408) failed to get out of committee for a vote in the state Senate.
Details About the US bill to allow parents to sue social media over child addiction:
Using techniques that can cause minors to become addicted to their products, social media companies could have been sued by local prosecutors for up to $250,000 for each infraction under the proposed legislation.
According to Dylan Hoffman, executive director for California and the Southwest at TechNet, “protecting children online is a concern but must be done ethically and successfully.”
Supporters said that these regulations are vital to shield kids from businesses that ignore the damage social media addiction does to children’s mental health.
Social networks that generate less than $100 million in revenue yearly or are primarily used for video games were covered by the Bill.
“I am quite dissatisfied. Due to the bill’s demise, a few social media firms will be able to continue testing millions of Californian children, harming future generations “said Jordan Cunningham, the bill’s author.
The bill’s death coincides with US President Joe Biden’s proposal for enhanced internet child safety measures.
The bill’s opponents claimed that it would have forced services to use age verification, which poses a privacy risk. It hurts the kids by depriving them of valuable social outlets and educational resources. It affects the youngster’s academic resources.
