Governor Newsom Signs AB 2, Putting a Price on Harming Children Online
SAN FRANCISCO, September 10, 2026—Governor Gavin Newsom today signed AB 2, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal and sponsored by Common Sense Media. The law makes a social media platform liable for damages when it fails to exercise ordinary care and a child is injured. Damages run to $5,000 per violation with a cap of $1 million per child, or three times actual damages, whichever is greater. No legislator voted against the bill.
Jim Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, issued the following statement:
"We applaud Governor Newsom for signing AB 2 into law and Assemblymember Lowenthal for sticking with this effort for three sessions in a row. This new law reflects a powerful but very simple approach to force large social media companies to make their products safer for young people – raising the cost of doing harm to kids. The beauty of AB 2 is that it will incentivize companies to design their products safely for kids by increasing the financial cost of failing to do so."
"For two decades, families have been left to pick up the pieces after social media companies put children in harm's way. Parents have watched their kids struggle while these companies kept making money and avoiding responsibility. AB 2 changes that. When a company's conduct harms a child, there should be real consequences - and now there will be. Assemblymember Lowenthal spent three sessions fighting to get this done, and we thank the Governor for signing it. The cheapest thing these companies can do now is stop hurting kids."
What AB 2 Does
AB 2 establishes that a social media platform that fails to exercise ordinary care and injures a child is liable for $5,000 per violation, capped at $ 1million per child, or three times the child's actual damages, whatever is greater. The law applies to actions filed on or after January 1, 2027. The damages provisions sunset January 1, 2035.
Common Sense Media sponsored this legislation.
Background
Until this year, no jury in the country had held a social media company responsible for injuring a child. That changed in March, when a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google negligent and awarded $6 million.
In August, a New Mexico judge ruled that Meta's platforms are a public nuisance in that state, comparing them to a polluting factory, and ordered $567 million into a fund to treat the harm to children there. The state's total judgement reached $942 million.
Days later, Meta reached a $17.1 billion settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia and three territories.
Courts have established that these companies answer to the same standard of care as everyone else. AB 2 sets what those companies owe when they fail that standard.
About Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the research-backed information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the age of apps, algorithms, and AI. We rate, educate, and advocate to protect and prepare kids online. Our ratings, research, and resources reach more than 150 million users globally, over 1.4 million educators, and more than 100,000 schools worldwide every year. Learn more at commonsense.org.