California's Governor Gavin Newsom signed on Thursday a package of 13 new laws designed to protect minors in the digital environment. The measures, considered among the strictest in the United States for young users, include restrictions on the use of social media technologies and limit interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots considered harmful.
The laws' main objective is to expand the protection of minors' privacy on the internet and restrict features considered addictive on digital platforms for users under 16. Newsom, a member of the Democratic Party, signed the legislation that will take effect on January 1, 2027.
Among the prohibitions established by the new laws are the exposure of children to features considered "psychologically exploitative," such as infinite scrolling of content, algorithmic recommendations, and autoplay of videos. Social media platforms will be prevented from using these features with users under 16 years old.
