AB 3172: Social media platforms: injuries to children: civil penalties.

Existing law provides that everyone is responsible not only for the result of their willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person.

This bill would make a social media platform, as defined, liable for specified civil penalties in addition to any other remedy provided by law, if the platform knowingly and willfully fails to exercise ordinary care or skill toward a child. Under the bill, the civil penalties would only be available in an action brought by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney. The bill would require no less than 51% of any civil penalties recovered pursuant to the bill to be distributed to the child to whom the duty of ordinary care and skill was owed. deposited into the Safe Social Media Fund, which the bill would create. The bill would allow money deposited into the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used by the Office of the Surgeon General to raise awareness about safe social media use. The bill would apply to causes of action arising from conduct occurring on or after January 1, 2026. The bill would declare that its provisions are severable.