Is your child addicted to social networks? In California you can sue Facebook or TikTok if this controversial law is approved

By Adam Beam

California could soon hold tech companies liable for harms caused to children who have become addicted to their social media, allowing parents to sue platforms like Instagram and TikTok for up to $25,000 per violation, according to a bill approved by the California Legislature. State Assembly on Monday.

The standard defines “addiction” as a condition in which children under the age of 18 suffer harm -whether physically, mentally, emotionally, developmentally or materially- and want to leave or reduce their time on social networks but cannot because they are preoccupied or obsessed with them.

The law would only apply to companies with at least $100 million in gross revenue in the past year, which appears to target giants like Facebook, which dominate the market.

It would not affect

services like Netflix and Hulu or companies that offer email and text messaging.

File image of a cell phone. DPA / Picture alliance via Getty

“

we are going to protect children”, said the Republican state congressman Jordan Cunningham, author of the bill.

Monday's vote was a key but not definitive step.

The bill

where it will undergo weeks of hearings and negotiations.

[“I was absolutely terrified”: says the mother of a young man who committed suicide after being the victim of 'sextortion']

The bill, which would come into force on January 1, offers social media companies

if they remove items deemed addictive to children by April 1;

or if they

to identify and eliminate elements that can create addiction in children.

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TechNet, a bipartisan network of top tech executives, wrote in a letter to lawmakers that if the bill becomes law, "social media companies and online web services would have no choice but to cease operating for minors." 18 years old and would enforce strict age verification to ensure teens don't use their sites."

"There is no social media company, much less any business, that can tolerate that legal risk," he said.

[A mother sues TikTok over the death of her 10-year-old daughter during a viral challenge]

Lawmakers appeared willing to change the part of the bill that allows parents to sue social media companies, but none offered a detailed alternative.

His supporters urged passage of the bill on Monday to continue the conversation on the issue in the state Senate.

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Assemblyman Ken Cooley, a Democrat from Rancho Cordova, said that as a lawyer, he normally opposes projects that create more opportunities for lawsuits.

But he said lawmakers must "change the dynamic around our children."

"We have to do something," he said.

"If it doesn't work out, we can make changes on the fly."