California AB 2 social media child harm liability (2026)

California — AB 2: Social Media Platforms Made Legally Liable for Damages to Children, With Penalties Reported at Up to $1 Million Per Child Where a Large Platform Is Found Negligent (Signed September 10, 2026)
California · Cal. A.B. 2 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.) — social media platform liability for harm to children (signed September 10, 2026; effective January 1, 2027)

Status
Enacted (not yet in effect)
Takes effect
January 1, 2027
Applies to
Social media platforms serving California children, in particular large platforms exposed to the reported per-child penalty
Enforced by
California courts; enforcement agency not identified in located coverage

California Assembly Bill 2 makes social media platforms LEGALLY LIABLE for damages to children. Reporting on the signing package describes penalties of up to $1 MILLION PER CHILD where a large social media company is found negligent of harming children. Governor Newsom signed it on September 10, 2026. This is the enforcement engine of the whole package. The other bills signed that day impose duties — strip addictive features, run risk assessments, alert parents, keep AI toys away from under-16s — and duties without a liability route are frequently unenforced in practice. AB 2 supplies that route, and a per-child measure of damages is the design choice that gives it weight: for a platform with millions of minor users, exposure scales with the affected population rather than being capped at a single institutional fine, which changes the calculation from a cost of doing business into an existential number. The mechanism also differs from the dominant American approach to platform harm, which has generally run through Section 230 disputes and product-liability theories in court rather than through a state statute creating liability directly. The specific negligence standard, the definition of 'large' platform and the relationship to federal law are not established by the located coverage and must be read from the statute.

Who is protected: California children harmed by social media platforms, and their families as claimants

Legal detail

State of California — ASSEMBLY BILL 2, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on September 10, 2026. OPERATIVE EFFECT: makes SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LEGALLY LIABLE FOR DAMAGES TO CHILDREN. REPORTED PENALTY STRUCTURE: up to $1 MILLION PER CHILD where a large social media company is found NEGLIGENT of harming children. STRUCTURAL ROLE IN THE PACKAGE: AB 2 is the LIABILITY LAYER beneath the conduct requirements imposed by the other bills signed 2026-09-10 (California AB 1709 addictive feeds and under-16 age restriction (2026), California SB 1119 Adam's Law, companion chatbots (2026), California SB 867 AI chatbot toy moratorium (2026)). Conduct duties without an enforcement route are frequently unenforced; AB 2 supplies one. THE PER-CHILD MEASURE IS THE CONSEQUENTIAL DESIGN CHOICE: exposure scales with the number of affected minors rather than being capped at an institutional penalty, so for a platform with a large minor user base the ceiling is a function of population rather than of a fixed statutory maximum. DOCTRINAL NOTE: the prevailing American route to platform accountability for harm to minors has run through litigation \u2014 Section 230 immunity disputes and product-design liability theories \u2014 rather than through a state statute creating liability directly. A statutory liability regime bypasses part of that argument but invites preemption and Section 230 defences of its own; NEITHER THE NEGLIGENCE STANDARD, THE DEFINITION OF 'LARGE' PLATFORM, NOR THE RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL LAW is established by the located coverage. STATUS IS `enacted` NOT `effective`, effective_date NULL \u2014 no operative date located. NOT PRESENT IN THIS DATASET IN ANY FORM before this pass, including as a LegiScan stub.

Key facts

JurisdictionCalifornia
LevelState
StrengthStronger
EnactedSeptember 10, 2026
CitationCal. A.B. 2 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.) — social media platform liability for harm to children (signed September 10, 2026; effective January 1, 2027)
Private right of actionYes, individuals can sue
PenaltiesReported at up to $1 million per child where a large social media company is found negligent of harming children
Topicschildren's online safety · consumer protection · automated decision-making
News reportCalifornia Governor Signs Laws Aimed at Protecting Kids From Social Media and AI — Broadband Breakfast

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