New California Bill Threatens Anonymity, Free Speech Online for All, Experts Say

A new California bill requiring social media companies to determine if users are minors threatens anonymity and free speech online, warn experts. With the world’s major social media companies headquartered in California, this bill, sponsored by the state’s attorney general, would likely take effect nationwide. SB 796, otherwise known as the Protecting Youth from Social Media Addiction Act, would ban social media notifications to minors between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM without parental consent, require chronological, not algorithmic social media feed presented to minors without parental consent, and only allow these features if a social media company has "reasonably determined" the user is not a minor.