Lawmakers in California on Monday passed a first-of-its-kind bill aimed at improving online safety and privacy protections for children.

The bill, California’s age-appropriate design code law, requires companies like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to put in place guardrails for users under the age of 18. This includes setting higher privacy settings for minors and refraining from collecting location data for minors. user.

Companies also analyze their algorithms and products to determine how they affect young users and whether they are designed to be addictive or designed to do more harm to children. It is necessary to evaluate whether

Child safety advocates applauded the bill, which passed 33-0 and said similar federal legislation was needed to protect young users. It’s a big step forward for the world,” said Josh Golin, executive director of advocacy group Fairplay.

“For too long, tech companies have treated critical privacy and safety issues as PR issues that should only be addressed through vague promises, obfuscations and delays,” he said. “Now tech platforms must put the interests and well-being of California’s youth ahead of reckless growth and shareholder dividends.”

Details will be announced later …