California limits addictive feeds and autoplay for children under 16.

What changed

On September 10, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1709. It was filed with the Secretary of State the same day as Chapter 183.

The statute says a covered platform may not provide an “addictive feature” to a user under 16. In the bill, a user is someone who lives in California. An addictive feature means an addictive feed, autoplay, or another feature the Attorney General later defines in regulations.

An addictive feed, as the bill defines it, is a stream of media that other people shared, ordered or recommended using information about that user. The definition has exceptions. A result the user specifically asked for can fall outside it. So can the next item in a sequence from the same creator, when that audio or video does not play automatically.

A covered platform is a site or app, including a social media platform, that offers an addictive feature as a significant part of the service. The definition leaves out services limited to shopping and reviews, and feeds whose main purpose is cloud storage.

Two limits are easy to miss:

• The law does not ban accounts. A platform may still let someone under 16 have an account if it does not provide any addictive feature.
• The chaptered bill does not set its own start date, and it is not an urgency statute. The California Constitution says a statute enacted at a regular session generally takes effect on January 1 next following a 90-day period from enactment. For a September 10, 2026 enactment, that usual date is January 1, 2027. The bill’s own text also points age checks at the Digital Age Assurance Act, which existing law schedules to begin January 1, 2027. Check the Legislature’s bill page before you expect an app to change.

Enforcement is a civil action by the Attorney General or a local public prosecutor. There is nothing for a parent to file.

What you can do

If you live outside California, this statute does not change your child’s apps. Wherever you live, you can set the same kinds of limits yourself and you do not need to wait for a company to redesign a feed.

• On YouTube, autoplay and the Shorts feed are separate controls. In Family Center you can turn off autoplay for a supervised kid account, and the child cannot turn it back on while that setting is enabled. You can also set the daily Shorts feed limit to zero. Autoplay is in the YouTube guide, and so is the Shorts limit.
• On an iPhone or iPad, a schedule and a daily allowance still decide when apps are available, whether or not a feed changes later. Start with Apple’s time controls.
• Agree on the exception. A law cannot say what your family does when someone asks for more time. A short family agreement can.

Sources

• Governor of California: bills signed September 10, 2026Confirms the signing of AB 1709 and describes the ban on addictive features such as autoplay and algorithmic feeds for users under 16.
• AB 1709 on the California Legislature’s siteChapter 183, approved and filed September 10, 2026. Definitions, the account exception, and enforcement are in the chaptered text.
• California Constitution, Article IV, section 8The usual effective date for a statute enacted at a regular session. AB 1709 does not set a different one.