Assembly Judiciary Committee advances package of bills including AB 2 on social media liability; several consumer, housing and court-record measures move on

Assembly Judiciary Committee members on Monday advanced a slate of measures after hours of testimony on issues ranging from social media and children’s safety to housing preferences for voucher holders, court reporting shortages and fees charged to merchants when they collect sales taxes.

AB 2 — carried by an assemblymember who presented the bill to the committee — would create enhanced financial liability for large social media platforms when a court finds negligence that caused harm to children and teenagers. The author said the bill does not change the underlying burden of proof; it would only create calibrated penalties to make negligence claims financially meaningful in an effort to prompt changes in platform design and moderation. “AB 2 will hold social media platforms accountable for their failure to exercise ordinary care that results in harm to children and teenagers,” the author said.

The bill drew support from child-safety groups and Common Sense Media. Nicole Rocha of Common Sense Media told the committee: “Social media companies are already subject to this statute and are litigating cases under this section in both state and federal courts. . . . AB 2 builds upon existing law and creates enhanced financial penalties for large social media companies who have breached the ordinary standard of care causing harms to children through their negligence.”

Opponents — including representatives of TechNet and industry trade groups — warned the panel that the measure could chill innovation, invite new rounds of litigation and potentially conflict with federal protections such as section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Dylan Hoffman of TechNet said platforms have taken voluntary steps to reduce harm and argued the bill could incentivize broad, blunt actions that limit access or weaken encryption rather than solve child-safety problems.

Committee members urged continued negotiation. One member urged the author to work with groups that represent youth-serving services to ensure the law does not create perverse incentives to block access to helpful resources. The author said she would work with stakeholders and stressed the bill was narrowly aimed at negligence-based claims, not the content-based immunities available under federal law.

Votes at a glance - AB 2 (social media negligence / child safety): advanced out of committee (forwarded). (See provenance below.) - AB 282 (housing preference for voucher holders): passed to appropriations (as amended) to allow providers to prioritize voucher recipients without running afoul of source-of-income protections. - AB 882 (court reporting / temporary expansion of electronic recording): advanced as amended with an urgency clause to appropriations; the bill would temporarily expand the use of electronic recordings in limited case types…