Assembly BillChaptered/SignedCivil
AB 2: Injuries to children: civil penalties.
What AB 2 does, verified September 15, 2026
This bill aims to hold social media platforms liable for damages caused to children due to their failure to exercise ordinary care or skill. The social media platform will be responsible for specified damages if it fails to protect a child from harm. The bill is based on the principle that individuals are responsible for the result of their actions and for injuries caused by their negligence. The proposed law would provide civil penalties for social media platforms that fail to protect children from harm.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
✓Second ChamberComplete
✓GovernorComplete
6ChapteredCurrent
Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 180, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-10)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions35 total · showing 5
| Sep. 10, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 180, Statutes of 2026. |
| Sep. 10, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 08, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 28, 2026 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 6816.). |
| Aug. 27, 2026 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, September 10, 2026 · 560 words
Assembly Bill No. 2
CHAPTER 180
An act to add and repeal Section 1714.02 of the Civil Code, relating to social media platforms.
[ Approved by Governor September 10, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 10, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2, Lowenthal. 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, until January 1, 2035, make a social media platform, as defined, liable for specified damages if the social media platform fails to exercise ordinary care or skill by causing injury to a child.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:(a) Subdivision (a) of Section 1714 of the Civil Code already makes every person and corporation, including social media platforms, financially responsible for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person.
(b) Children are uniquely vulnerable on social media platforms.
(c) The biggest social media platforms invent and deploy features they know injure large numbers of children, including contributing to child deaths.
(d) The costs of these injuries are unfairly being paid by parents, schools, and taxpayers, not the platforms.
(e) This act is necessary to ensure that the social media platforms that are knowingly causing the most severe injuries to the largest number of children receive heightened damages to prevent injury from occurring to children in the first place.
SEC. 2.
Section 1714.02 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 1714.01, to read:1714.02.
(a) A social media platform that violates subdivision (a) of Section 1714 by causing injury to a child shall be liable for statutory damages for the larger of the following:(1) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation up to a maximum, per child, of one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(2) Three times the amount of the child’s actual damages.
(b) Any waiver of this section shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.
(c) For the purpose of this section:
(1) “Child” means a minor under 18 years of age.
(2) “Social media platform” means a social media platform, as defined in Section 22675 of the Business and Professions Code, that generates more than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per year in gross revenues.
(d) The duties, remedies, and obligations imposed by this section are cumulative to the duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under other law and shall not be construed to relieve a social media platform from any duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under any other law.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2035, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.SEC. 4.
The provisions of this act shall only apply prospectively. This act does not apply to any legal case that was pending on or before January 1, 2027.Text of AB 2 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions