California has enacted 13 child-technology bills while a Texas judge separately found that TikTok misled users about its content filtering and “Restricted Mode” safety feature.
California and Texas took separate actions Thursday that increase scrutiny of how technology companies protect children online and describe their safeguards to parents.
California restricts addictive features for minors
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bipartisan package of 13 bills addressing social media, companion chatbots, children’s privacy and AI-generated child exploitation material.
One measure, Assembly Bill 1709, prohibits covered social-media platforms from offering users under 16 certain features designed to maximize engagement and encourage compulsive use. The restrictions include infinite-scroll feeds and algorithmic autoplay, with additional covered features to be defined through regulation.
Another measure, Senate Bill 1119, strengthens safeguards for companion chatbots used by children. The law requires parental controls, crisis protocols involving suicidal ideation, independent child-safety audits and annual risk assessments. A related law bars the manufacture and sale of toys containing companion chatbots for four years.
The package also expands privacy protections for minors, regulates the use of K–12 student data in AI systems and extends criminal protections against child sexual exploitation to certain digitally altered or AI-generated material.
The measures received broad bipartisan support. Critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have raised privacy and free-speech concerns about how some restrictions and age-related requirements may operate.
Texas judge finds TikTok’s safety claims misleading
In a separate case, Texas state District Judge Cory Liu ruled that TikTok violated the Texas consumer-protection law by misleading users about how it handled content that violated its own Community Guidelines and about the effectiveness of “Restricted Mode.”
Texas alleged that TikTok publicly said it would remove prohibited material while internally placing some content in a “hard to find” category that allowed it to remain available. The judge also found that the state had established that Restricted Mode did not work as advertised and exposed minors to material the company said would be filtered.
The case now moves toward a trial to determine penalties and other remedies. TikTok had not publicly responded when the ruling was first reported.
What happens next
California regulators will begin implementing the new laws, including provisions that require additional rulemaking. In Texas, the court is expected to schedule the next phase of the TikTok case.
THRIVE! Perspective
Parents remain the first line of protection for children online, and technology companies are responsible for accurately describing the safeguards they offer. The practical questions now are whether these actions improve transparency and child safety while respecting privacy, constitutional rights and the proper role of families.
Sources
California Governor’s Office | Reuters on California | Reuters on Texas | Texas court ruling
