On Monday, the California State Assembly approved a bill that would make social media companies liable for harming minors who are addicted to their entertainment content. Platforms like Instagram * and TikTok can force you to pay fines of up to $25,000.

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“Addiction” is defined in the document as a condition in which children under 18 years of age are harmed physically, mentally, emotionally, materially or hindering their development, and who would like to spend less time on social media, but are unable to abandon them because of their obsession.

The bill mentions companies with a combined revenue of at least $100 million in the previous year. Apparently, social networks like Facebook * and other players that dominate the global market are the main target. The change, if adopted, will not affect streaming video services like Netflix and companies that provide email or messaging services.

According to the author of the bill, Jordan Cunningham (Jordan Cunningham), “the era of unlimited social experiments on children is over and it’s time to protect them.” Monday’s vote was a key, but not the last, step to pass the law. Now the bill must be approved by the State Senate, but before that there will be weeks of discussions between lawmakers and lawyers.

It is assumed that media companies will have two opportunities to avoid liability in court. If the bill becomes law, it will take effect on January 1 next year. Companies can eliminate addictive features for children until April 1, at which time they will not be liable for damages.

In addition, companies can gain “immunity” from lawsuits by regularly auditing their services to identify and eliminate features that may be addictive for children.

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Despite these options for a way out, business groups have spoken out against the bill. The TechNet group, which includes the heads and top management of technology companies, wrote to lawmakers that if the bill becomes law, social media companies and online services will simply be forced to completely stop serving children under 18 and begin to apply strict age verification measures – there is not a single business that is willing to take the risk of facing legal action related to victimized minors.

* Included in the list of public associations and religious organizations in respect of which a court has made a final decision to liquidate or ban activities on the grounds provided for by Federal Law No. 114-FZ of July 25, 2002 “On Counteracting Extremist Activity”.