Attorney General outlines social‑media limits for minors, new consumer policing powers and ticketing disclosures

Attorney General William Tong told the General Law Committee on Feb. 10 that his office will press several consumer protection measures this session, including limits on social‑media company algorithms aimed at minors, new disclosure and resale rules for event tickets and an expanded price‑gouging authority he says is needed to reach wholesalers and manufacturers.

Tong said his social‑media bill (HB 6857) would require platforms to default to privacy and activity limits for users under 18: age‑verified parental consent for algorithmic targeting, default privacy settings, notification limits and a default curfew that restricts algorithmic targeting between midnight and 6 a.m., with parents able to opt‑in to relax those limits. He also said the bill would require platforms to report annually the number of minor accounts, parental‑consent rates and average time per day by age and time of day.

“Parents need help,” Tong said in his opening remarks, describing internal industry research he said shows a connection between algorithmic feeds and shortened sleep and increased anxiety among teenagers. He added his office has sued major platforms over…