Internet giants hurt kids, concert goers and journalism. California is fighting back

Senate Bill 976 by Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, seeks to prevent social media platforms from targeting children with unsolicited notifications.

Using complex algorithms to assess a user’s age and interests, social media companies can create an addictive cycle of usage that can keep youths glued to these outlets and their screens, no matter the hour. SB 976 would prevent these platforms, when knowing the age of users, from sending notifications to minors from midnight to 6 a.m. and the weekday school hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. SB 976 seeks to give parents the ability to shut down an “addictive feed” entirely. Each platform would have to establish a parental consent process after identifying the young user and his or her parents. This would be a new tool for parents seeking to reduce their children’s exposure to social media. \

While this concept has some technical and logistical challenges, it shifts decision-making from the social media companies back to families. There is no substitute for parenting.

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