Bill to hold social media liable for youth addiction diesBill to hold social media liable for youth addiction dies

A bill that would have held Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and other social media platforms liable for being addictive to children has died in the California legislature.

This week, the bill, Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act, failed to pass a key committee – the last step before facing a vote in the state Senate.

The bill’s author, Republican Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, said he was “extremely disappointed,” according to the Associated Press. “The bill’s death means a handful of social media companies will be able to continue their experiment on millions of California kids, causing generational harm.”

Assembly Bill 2408 would have given the state attorney general, county and city attorneys the power to sue social media outlets if they believed the platforms could have done more to prevent addiction on their sites. Penalties would have reached up to $250,000 for each “knowing and willful” violation plus legal costs.

Related story: New bill to hold social media platforms liable for being addictive to children