Newsom Signs Age-Appropriate Design Code Act

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed children’s privacy legislation Thursday. AB-2273, which opponents say would violate free speech and hurt the internet (see 2208120039), would require social media companies with child users to follow “age-appropriate” design principles. The bipartisan Age-Appropriate Design Code Act sets up a working group to report to the legislature by January 2024 on best practices for implementation. “We’re taking aggressive action in California to protect the health and wellbeing of our kids,” said Newsom. California will be “the first state in the nation to require tech companies to install guardrails on their apps and websites for users under 18,” said sponsor Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D) in the same news release. Republican co-sponsor Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham said “protecting kids online is not only common sense, it will save lives.” Newsom signed an industry-opposed bill earlier this week to establish transparency requirements for social media platforms’ content moderation practices (see 2209140050).