Amending AB 1709 Doesn’t Fix It: California’s Social Media Ban Still Threatens Free Speech and Privacy
California's AB 1709, which would ban social media access for users under 16, has been amended as it moves through the state Senate, but critics say the changes are largely cosmetic and the bill's core restrictions remain intact. Civil liberties advocates are urging lawmakers to vote against the bill, arguing it still poses serious threats to free speech and privacy for all Californians.
Why this matters: Age-verification laws sound protective. In practice, they usually work by making everyone prove who they are before they can speak online. That means platforms collecting identity documents from adults to comply with rules aimed at teenagers. The people most affected are not just minors. They are everyone who now has to hand over personal data to access constitutionally protected speech. California has tried this approach before and courts have pushed back. Lawmakers calling amendments a compromise when the core mechanism stays the same is not a compromise. It is a rebranding.
Who should care: Cybersecurity · Privacy officers · Administrators · General readers · Policy
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