Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976)

Summary

Signed into law in September 2024, Senate Bill 976 the “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act” (the “Act”) makes it unlawful for online platforms, including social media, to provide addictive feeds and certain features to minors without first obtaining verifiable parental consent. The Act requires the Attorney General to adopt regulations regarding age assurance and parental consent methods in furtherance of the Act’s purpose by January 1, 2027. As part of this rulemaking process, the Attorney General invites all members of the public to provide comments.

NOTE: Regulation documents prepared by the Department may contain markup including underline, strikethrough, or highlight. While these documents are ADA-compliant, upon request, the Department can prepare a more screen reader-friendly version of these documents with annotations that explain the marked changes. Please submit all requests to regulations@doj.ca.gov.

Notice Register Publication Date: May 15, 2026

Status of the Proposal: The Department is reviewing public comments received during the 45-day public comment period. The proposed regulations must also be reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). Once submitted, OAL has 30 working days to review the rulemaking record to determine whether the Department satisfied the requirements of the APA. This review may result in modifications to the regulations and additional opportunities for public comment.

Public Notice and Related Documents

The information below relates to recent rulemaking activity, including links to the regulations text and associated documents. Any person who has submitted a comment regarding a proposed action has the right to request a copy of the Final Statement of Reasons. The Final Statement will also be posted to this webpage upon completion of this rulemaking.