AB 2461: User authentication.

Existing law generally regulates social media platforms, including by requiring a social media platform that operates in the state to create, and publicly post on the social media platforms internet website, a policy statement that includes, among other things, the social media platforms policy on the use of the social media platform to illegally distribute a controlled substance. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 grants to a consumer various rights with respect to personal information that is collected by a business, as defined, including the right to request that a business delete personal information about the consumer that the business has collected from the consumer.

This bill would require a social media platform to, on or before January 1, 2026, develop and make publicly available on its internet website a voluntary, optional identification verification mechanism that allows a user to provide a valid state identification for the purpose of verifying the users identity. The bill would also require a social media platform to denote on the profile of an authenticated user that the users identity has been verified. that authenticates the identity of a user to delete any personal information submitted by the user to the social media platform for that purpose within 30 days of the date upon which the social media platform authenticates the users identity.