Assembly committee advances Lowenthal bill to impose financial penalties on platforms for proven harms to children

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi Lowenthal introduced AB 2, a bill to create enhanced financial penalties for large social media companies when their negligence causes physical or mental harm to children and teenagers, and the Assembly committee passed the measure as amended to the Judiciary Committee.

Supporters told the committee that existing litigation and private enforcement have not produced adequate deterrents. In his opening remarks, Lowenthal said social media companies “are causing untold harm to our kids” and described internal platform research and recent policy rollbacks by platforms as evidence that stronger financial incentives are needed to change corporate behavior.

The bill does not alter the underlying elements of negligence that a plaintiff must prove in court, Lowenthal and his supporters said; rather AB 2 would scale penalties so they meaningfully deter companies whose products “drive children and teens to harmful content,”…