EFF Pushes Newsom to Veto California's Youth Social Media Ban AB 1709
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging Governor Newsom to veto AB 1709, California’s proposed ban on social media use for anyone under 16. The group argues the bill would strip teens of basic platform tools like recommendation feeds and following features, effectively locking them out of online services, while pushing invasive age-verification and data collection. EFF contends the ban threatens privacy and free speech, offers little safety benefit, and could provoke lawsuits and conflicts with existing laws (AB 1043, SB 976).