No more TikTok FYP? California’s social media bill could completely overhaul the online world for kids

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday that could completely change the way children in the state use social media. Among the possible changes: A requirement that could reshape the TikTok “For You Page” as children have come to know it.

The bill, SB976, is expected to go into effect in 2027 in the state’s home for many large technology companies. There are two main parts. First: It would prevent social networks from providing “addictive feeds” – defined as feeds based on user-provided or user-collected information – to children with parental consent. And second: It will prevent social networks from sending notifications to children (without parental consent) between 12 am and 6 am, and between 8 am and 3 pm on weekdays during the school year.

In short: Children’s feed should be the chronological feed of the people they follow. That would mean, effectively, no more “Your Page” on TikTok or other feeds based on algorithmic recommendations.

“Every parent knows the toll social media addiction can have on their children — social isolation, stress and anxiety, and endless hours spent late into the night,” Newsom said in a statement, via the Associated Press. “With this bill, California is helping to protect children and youth from the elements that are intentionally designed to feed these harmful practices.”

It should be noted that the law makes the aforementioned actions directed at children illegal “unless the operator has actual knowledge that the user is a minor.” Which seems to leave room for children to circle around the possible rules. However, the bill’s authors note that the state’s attorney general will have to implement age verification and parental consent laws by 2027, though it’s unclear what those will look like.

Now, of course, TikTok is already involved in a legal battle with the US government, so there is a chance that it will not be in the US by 2027. But no matter what the state of social media is like in a few years, this law will completely change the platforms that work.

I LA Times reported that the bill has an “unusual array of opponents,” including the ACLU of California, Equality California, and organizations representing tech giants like TikTok and Meta. Although the law could have a major impact on how children use social media, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be a legal battle between now and 2027.