California legislature passes law experts say could require ID for social media – Washington Examiner
### Summary of California Bills on Age Verification
Recently, California has seen legislative efforts focused on age verification related to online content and social media, most notably through Assembly Bill 3080 and Senate Bill 976.
#### Assembly Bill 3080
Assembly Bill 3080 aims to enhance age verification processes for accessing certain online content, specifically targeting obscene and indecent materials. This bill has been a topic of discussion in the Assembly and was read for a second time, indicating ongoing legislative progress and amendments.
#### Senate Bill 976
On a related note, Senate Bill 976 has garnered attention as it requires social media platforms to implement age verification measures to prevent minors from accessing specific content. Introduced by retiring State Senator Nancy Skinner, the bill would prohibit social media notifications to minors between midnight and 6 AM, require that feeds presented to minors are chronological rather than algorithmic unless parental consent is obtained, and establish criteria for companies to verify that users are not minors.
The bill has raised significant concerns among technology experts and advocates of free speech, who argue that these requirements could compel users to submit personal identification, thus infringing on privacy and First Amendment rights. The California Attorney General will have the authority to define what constitutes “reasonable” verification processes by 2027, raising further apprehensions about potential data privacy issues.
#### Concerns and Implications
Critics, including the Chamber of Progress, have expressed grave concerns that these bills might overly restrict access to information and subject adults to the same scrutiny as minors, thereby challenging the balance between protecting young users and preserving the rights of all internet users to engage freely online. The overall impact of these bills could significantly reshape the landscape of online engagement in California, influencing how social media operates and how personal information is handled.
both bills reflect California’s efforts to address the complexities of online content access, particularly concerning minors, while also igniting debates about privacy rights and freedom of speech in the digital age.
California legislature passes law experts say could require ID for social media
(The Center Square) – The California legislature passed a bill requiring social media age verification to prevent unauthorized use by minors involving addictive feeds or late night use. Technology experts warn the bill would effectively require users to provide ID to use social media, and thus threaten First Amendment freedom of speech and access to information.
SB 976, one of the last bills by State Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, who retired from the legislature at the end of the August session, now goes to California Gov. Newsom’s for approval. The bill would ban social media notifications to minors during school hours and 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, or if a parent has consented.
The bill empowers the California Attorney General — in this case Rob Bonta, who sponsored the bill — to define what is considered “reasonable” by January 1, 2027, which has many concerned that this would mean tying highly private information such as government identification to social media use.
“SB 976 would effectively require social media companies to verify the identity and age of ALL users,” warned the Chamber of Progress in an opposition letter. “Many adult users reasonably would prefer not to share their identifying information with online services – creating an unpleasant dilemma for adult users: turn over sensitive personal data to access protected speech online, or forego enjoyment of that online service entirely.”
“The First Amendment stringently restricts governmental interference with both the editorial discretion of private entities and the rights of individuals, regardless of age, to access lawful expression,” continued the Chamber of Progress. “SB 976, through its content-based and speaker-based restrictions, unequivocally infringes upon these fundamental freedoms.”
A court ruling in Arkansas against a similar bill suggests SB 976 may not stand up to First Amendment scrutiny, which Newsom could use to veto the bill.
Bonta, on the other hand, encourages the public to think of the welfare of children at risk from social media addiction.
“Our children and teens are experiencing a public health crisis, caused by social media companies in their thirst for profits,” said Bonta in a statement. “In California, we take mental health seriously, we take children’s online safety seriously — and we know that we don’t have a minute to waste to protect our kids. In California, we move fast and fix things.”
The legislation featured unusual opposing and supporting coalitions of groups often at odds with each other. Opposing the measure is a coalition of business organizations, such as the California Chamber of Commerce, Netchoice and Technet, and civil rights organizations such as ACLU California Action, Civil Justice Association of California, and Equality California, and the Trevor Project. Supporting the measure were state education offices and parents’ groups.
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