California’s new tech babysitter
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a fresh batch of laws aimed at making social media and AI a lot less creepy for kids under 16. Think less infinite scroll dopamine machine, more “maybe let the child log off before their brain melts.”
The rules go after the stuff platforms love most:
- addictive features like autoplay and infinite scroll
- certain algorithmically recommended feeds for younger users
- companion AI chatbots, which now need crisis guidance and parental controls
- AI-generated or digitally altered explicit content involving minors
There’s also a four-year ban on selling AI chatbot-powered toys for children. So if your business model was “sell a robot teddy bear that gossips with toddlers,” California has some thoughts.
Why investors should care
This isn’t just a California kumbaya moment. It’s another reminder that the regulatory bill for Big Tech keeps getting longer, especially when kids, AI, and social media all show up in the same sentence.
Meta and Alphabet are in the crosshairs by default, since their products are exactly the kind of platforms lawmakers love to point at during hearings. Apple and Google also get dragged in through smartphone and content-filtering rules, while Microsoft’s AI products are part of the broader “don’t let bots go off the rails in classrooms” conversation.
Big picture: the message from California is pretty simple — if your product is sticky, algorithmic, and aimed at minors, lawmakers are coming with a clipboard.