The Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee heard a contentious debate on April 16 over AB 1709, a bill that would set a minimum age of 16 for certain social media accounts on platforms with harmful addictive features and create an e-safety advisory commission in the attorney general’s office.
Supporters framed the proposal as a public-health and child-safety response to addictive platform design rather than a restriction on speech content, according to the Assembly hearing transcript. Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, the bill’s author, said the measure is aimed at product design and that platforms could remain available if they removed harmful features, the transcript shows. The chair later made a similar clarification, saying the bill targets addictive designs rather than all social media.
Opponents, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Oakland Privacy and ACLU Cal Action, warned the bill could chill speech, weaken privacy and cut marginalized young people off from communities and information, the hearing record shows. Committee members also raised questions about First Amendment issues, enforceability, age assurance and whether an oversight commission would be effective.
The excerpt shows a sustained public hearing and sharp disagreement on the measure, but it does not show a final committee vote or final amendments.
