While Governor Gavin Newsom touts his new social media law as a landmark achievement for protecting kids online, California Democrats’ recent voting record indicates that safeguarding kids is not a priority for Newsom or his party.
Senate Bill 976 (introduced by Democrat Nancy Skinner), which Newsom signed into law last month, bans online platforms from “knowingly providing” addictive content feeds to minors “without parental consent.” In a statement accompanying the bill signing, Newsom bragged, “With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits. I thank Senator Skinner for advancing this important legislation that puts children’s well-being first.”
While Newsom’s backing of the bill made headlines, the Democrat majority has refused to consider numerous other child protection proposals this legislative session and has even pushed through one bill that puts many young people at risk. The party has not earned its rhetoric as a champion of children’s well-being.
A notable example is SB 1435 (introduced by Republican Ochoa Bogh), which sought to support the removal of obscene materials from K-8 classrooms and school libraries by aligning California law with federal broadcasting standards. This innocuous bill to make educational environments safer for young students failed to pass beyond the Senate Education Committee. Three Democrat senators opposed the measure, dismissing it as a “book-banning” bill.
Yet if materials are deemed inappropriate for a general audience under federal broadcasting rules, it stands to reason they should also be considered inappropriate for children, especially in K-8 educational settings. Another bill, AB
