Assembly unanimously moves AB 2 to address social‑media harms to children

AB 2 returned to the Assembly floor on Aug. 17 on concurrence and won the body's approval after extended bipartisan remarks from authors and supporters. The bill, described on the floor as imposing a higher duty of care on large platforms to prevent harms to children, was framed by multiple members as a necessary step after a recent multi‑state settlement with a major platform.

Assemblymember Lowenthal (the bill's author, announced in the clerk's reading) opened the floor presentation describing the bill's intent to create remedies large enough to change platform design choices. Supporters including Assemblymembers Patterson, Dixon, Wicks and Bonta described personal or constituent harms—ranging from recruitment to exploitation to drug‑related deaths—and urged the Assembly to act. "When they fail to exercise ordinary care and a child is injured mentally, physically, or fatally, the consequences cannot be a rounding error," Patterson said.

The clerk recorded the roll and the transcript reports the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments and passed the measure on the floor. Sponsors encouraged platform leaders to work with legislators rather than litigate; the speaker and author praised recent multi‑state enforcement activity and urged a legislative standard that applies across platforms.

Why it matters: AB 2 seeks to expand legal accountability for large social platforms when their design choices demonstrably harm children, creating potential nationwide implications for platform policy and litigation risk.

Next steps: With Assembly concurrence recorded, the bill will proceed through enrollment and transmittal and any subsequent legal and regulatory responses that follow statutory change.