Act Now to Stop California’s Paternalistic and Privacy-Destroying Social Media Ban

California lawmakers are fast-tracking A.B. 1709—a sweeping bill that would ban anyone under 16 from using social media and force every user, regardless of age, to submit sensitive personal information before accessing social platforms. That means that under A.B. 1709, social media companies will have to enact age gates to prohibit minors from accessing their services. The services may decide that complying with this bill means that Californians have to submit highly sensitive government-issued