Federal law to protect kids online should set a floor, not a ceiling 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general in sending a letter to Congress opposing the passage of the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act). The KIDS Act would broadly preempt state laws governing major online safety and technology issues — including online obscenity and regulation of artificial intelligence chatbots — while replacing them with ineffective federal standards. The letter argues that passage of the KIDS Act would threaten the progress states across the country have made in addressing the harms social media platforms pose to children, both by suing some of these platforms for acting illegally and by enacting landmark legislation designed to address the same harms targeted by the KIDS Act. 

“California has led the nation in confronting the growing dangers young people face online, from addictive platform designs to emerging AI technologies that threaten children’s mental health, safety, and wellbeing,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The KIDS Act not only fails to meaningfully protect kids, but also, imperils the significant progress California has made on this front. We welcome congressional efforts to address these serious issues, but any federal action should build upon the progress states like California have already made and ensure that children, not corporate interests, remain the priority.” 

Excessive time spent online is associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, susceptibility to addiction, and interference with daily life — including learning. Every additional hour that young people spend online is associated with an increased severity in symptoms of depression. Increasing evidence shows that these companies are aware of the adverse mental health consequences imposed on underage users, yet they have chosen to dig in deeper and deploy practices that keep kids' eyes glued to screens. 

California’s own investigations and lawsuits against Meta and TikTok have helped paint a full picture of the scope and intentionality of this public health crisis. California’s lawsuits against Meta and TikTok both claim that the social media giants designed their platforms to addict young people so they would spend longer on the platforms, to the detriment of their mental and physical health. Both lawsuits are ongoing. 

Harms like these are why many states have passed their own laws designed to protect children from the damage caused by social media. In 2024, California responded by enacting the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) to limit social media companies and other website operators from using addictive algorithmic feeds, notifications, and other addictive design features that coerce children and teens into spending long periods of time on their platforms. The state law requires parental consent for these features, empowering families to create healthy boundaries around kids’ social media use. And last year, California enacted the Social Media Warning Law (AB 56), which requires social media companies to periodically display a warning label on their platforms when used by children and teens. While social media may have benefits for some young users, the warning label advises that social media is associated with significant mental health harms and has not been proven safe for young users. 

In sending this letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Connecticut, Hawai‘i, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.