California makes platforms choose: redesign addictive feeds or lose under-16s
California just made youth safety a product constraint, not a trust-and-safety aspiration. A new law forces social platforms to remove features such as infinite scroll and autoplay for under-16s, or keep them off the service; separate rules put time limits, mental-health resources, safety plans, and potential parent alerts around chatbots. The 13-bill package also creates liability exposure, raising the cost of treating children’s safeguards as optional UX.