AB 2

Introduced by Assembly Members Lowenthal and Patterson
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Harabedian, Pellerin, and Rivas)
An act to add and repeal Section 1714.02 of the Civil Code, relating to social media platforms.
social media platforms
Injuries to children: civil penalties.
Existing law provides that everyone is responsible not only for the result of their willful acts but also for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person.
This bill would, until January 1, 2035, make a social media platform, as defined, liable for specified damages if the social media platform fails to exercise ordinary care or skill by causing injury to a child.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Subdivision (a) of Section 1714 of the Civil Code already makes every person and corporation, including social media platforms, financially responsible for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person.
(b) Children are uniquely vulnerable on social media platforms.
(c) The biggest social media platforms invent and deploy features they know injure large numbers of children, including contributing to
				child deaths.
(d) The costs of these injuries are unfairly being paid by parents, schools, and taxpayers, not the platforms.
(e) This act is necessary to ensure that the social media platforms that are knowingly causing the most severe injuries to the largest number of children receive heightened damages to prevent injury from occurring to children in the first place.
SEC. 2.
Section 1714.02 is added to the
Civil Code
,
immediately following Section 1714.01
, to read:
1714.02.
(a) A social media platform that violates subdivision (a) of Section 1714 by causing injury to a child shall be liable for statutory damages for the larger of the following:
(1) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation up to a maximum, per child, of one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(2) Three times the amount of the child’s actual damages.
(b) Any waiver of this section shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.
(c) For the purpose of this section:
(1) “Child” means a minor under 18 years of age.
(2) “Social media platform” means a social media platform, as defined in Section 22675 of the Business and Professions Code, that generates more than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per year in gross revenues.
(d) The duties, remedies, and obligations imposed by this section are cumulative to the duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under other law and shall not be construed to relieve a social media platform from any duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under any other law.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until
						January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 4.
The provisions of this act shall only apply prospectively. This act does not apply to any legal case that was pending on or before January 1, 2027.