Look, there's some significant news coming out of Sacramento that affects how young people in our region are going to be using technology going forward. Governor Newsom just signed a package of laws aimed at protecting kids online, and a couple of these measures are pretty substantial. According to CalMatters Housing, one law is going to restrict what social media companies can do with users under 16, requiring them to either remove addictive features like infinite scroll and autoplay or keep those younger users off their platforms entirely. The Governor made it clear this is about the mental health crisis affecting teenagers, and he acknowledged that parents are fighting an uphill battle against sophisticated engineering and algorithms designed to keep kids glued to their screens.
Now, not everyone agrees this social media law is the right approach. Digital rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation pushed the Governor to veto it, arguing that the definition of "addictive features" is so broad it could essentially ban social media for kids under 16 altogether, which they say would cut young people off from important information and experiences. It's a legitimate debate about whether this is the best way to solve the problem.
The second major piece of legislation, named after a California teenager named Adam Raine who died in 2025, focuses on artificial intelligence chatbots. This law has broader support, even from major tech companies like OpenAI. According to CalMatters Housing, the new rules will impose time limits for minors using chatbots, require the tools to have built-in mental health resources, and mandate safety plans. If a chatbot detects someone threatening self-harm, the operator has to alert parents and could face legal liability if they don't respond appropriately.
The Governor also signed several other related measures dealing with artificial intelligence and social media. One makes social media companies legally responsible for damages if their platforms harm children. Another is placing a four-year pause on AI chatbot toys for kids under 16. There are also new laws creating standards for independent auditors of AI tools and preventing companies from collecting children's data as a condition of using their services. These laws also follow a massive settlement between Meta and state attorneys general, where Meta agreed to pay up to several billion dollars and change how their platforms operate for younger users.
What I am seeing locally is that these laws represent a significant shift in how the technology landscape is going to work, especially for families with children. Whether you're buying a home for your family in the Bay Area or thinking about the community you're raising kids in, this kind of regulation is going to reshape what your teenagers experience online. As someone who works with families every day, I can tell you parents are genuinely concerned about these issues, and having some guardrails in place might actually give people more peace of mind as they're building their lives here.
