AB 1709 bans addictive features and feeds for under 16-year-olds 

Design It For Us Co-Chair Nikki Iyer released the following statement:

“California passed AB 1709, a landmark bill that will ban addictive features and feeds for under 16-year-olds on social media platforms. AB 1709 targets the core concerns that young people and parents have across the country: the addictive design features of social media platforms that, at the cost of our wellbeing, maximize users’ time spent online for profit. AB 1709 claws back our agency while respecting young people’s access to online spaces and community.

“We are proud of the leading role we played to help amend and advance the strongest version of this bill. We made sure the California legislature heard directly from young Californians, who urged them to change what was initially a blanket ban on minors’ access to social media to a targeted ban on addictive features and feeds. We are grateful to Assemblymember Lowenthal and his staff for their willingness to listen to our perspectives in pursuit of meaningful accountability.

“This constitutionally sound, nuanced approach preserves young people’s access to social media while effectively addressing core concerns around platform design, and we strongly encourage other states and the federal government to consider this model instead of blanket bans that likely infringe on young people’s constitutional rights. Additionally, AB 1709 is significant because it encourages platforms to establish default safeguards for all users, not just minors.

“We urge Governor Newsom to sign this bill into law and make history—as he did when he signed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code into law—reinforcing California’s leadership in protecting young people online.”

Background: 

  • Design It For Us sent letters to the Senate Privacy, Judiciary, and Appropriations Committees urging changes and advocating for a targeted ban on addictive features and feeds.
  • Design It For Us members attended a lobby day alongside partners to advocate for the passage of AB 1709.

###

About Design It For Us

Design It For Us is a youth-led coalition leveraging grassroots power to disrupt Big Tech’s harmful business models. The coalition is led by a team of people between the ages of 18 and 26 and supported by an array of youth-led organizations, staff, and advisors fighting for a better online world for everyone.