California’s assault on the algorithm: New bill would force social media companies to switch off ‘addictive’ technology for children under 18

Social media platforms have been criticized for pushing algorithmic content on minors, but a new bill in California aims to hold companies accountable.

The SB 976 bill, also called the “Protecting Kids from Social Media Addiction Act,” would require social media companies to disable algorithms for children under 18 and instead show them content from pages they already follow.

The default feed should show posts per page that users follow in chronological order, but the bill says this can be switched back to show the algorithmic content if the parent or user chooses.

California Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) authored the bill and said social media companies should stop prioritizing content designed to engage young users on the platforms.

“Profits are being made off our children at the expense of their well-being,” Skinner said, adding that the new law “is intended to prevent these highly avoidable harms.”

The proposed bill would include safeguards that give parents the right to remove algorithmic feeds from their children’s social media channels and prevent children from accessing the app during school hours or at night.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), who introduced the bill to tighten privacy protections for minors, said children will benefit greatly from changing the settings to only show who they’re following instead of algorithm-based contents.

“We know there are some kids who will change the default setting,” Wicks said Los Angeles Times“but the default setting is a very powerful tool.”

Last year, the US surgeon general published a worrying one report about the damaging effects social media can have on a child’s mental health.

Although social media platforms require users to be at least 13 years old to create a channel, nearly 40 percent of children ages eight to 12 use social media, according to the report.

Minors who use social media three or more hours a day have double the risk of psychological problems

It added that minors aged 12 to 15 who used social media for more than three hours a day were “double the risk of poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.”

The lawmakers pushing for the Protecting Kids from Social Media Addiction Act cited the surgeon general’s report in expressing why it is so important to pass the bill.

They added that almost half of adolescents surveyed in the report said social media made them feel worse about their body image, while some said they regularly saw “hate-based” content.

“Social media companies unfortunately show us time and time again that they are all too willing to ignore the harm to our children, the pain to our children, and the mental and physical health challenges they face in the pursuit of profit to strive.” Attorney General Rob Bonta said this ABC7 News.

Bonta introduced the Protecting Youth from Social Media Addiction and California Children’s Data Privacy Acts, which would limit the danger associated with social media addiction.

“Social media companies designed their platforms for addicted users, especially our children. Numerous studies show that once young people become addicted to social media, they are more likely to experience depression, anxiety and low self-esteem,” says Skinner. “We’ve waited long enough for social media companies to take action.”