Local News
California law aims to protect minors from social media addiction – NBC Los Angeles
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children’s access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
“Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night,” Newsom said in a statement. “With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits.”
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children’s accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their age. Some argue it would threaten online privacy by making platforms collect more information on users.
The law defines an “addictive feed” as a website or app “in which multiple pieces of media generated or shared by users are, either concurrently or sequentially, recommended, selected, or prioritized for display to a user based, in whole or in part, on information provided by the user, or otherwise associated with the user or the user’s device,” with some exceptions.
The subject garnered renewed attention in June when U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms and their impacts on young people. Attorneys general in 42 states endorsed the plan in a letter sent to Congress last week.
State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat representing Berkeley who authored the California law, said after lawmakers approved the bill last month that “social media companies have designed their platforms to addict users, especially our kids.”
“With the passage of SB 976, the California Legislature has sent a clear message: When social media companies won’t act, it’s our responsibility to protect our kids,” she said in a statement.
Local News
Ultrasound machine found abandoned in Whittier – NBC Los Angeles
A pair of puzzled men in Whittier were surprised and amused when they made a $10,000 discovery in the form of an ultrasound machine abandoned on the street.
Troy Silva was inside his restaurant on Whittier Boulevard on Friday when he got a text from his friend, Jason Barrio. The message urged him to go outside and see what his pal found.
“It was funny,” he said. “I mean, we were all laughing.”
Standing next to Barrio was a machine wrapped in plastic. After unpacking it, the men found it was a Hewlett-Packard ultrasound machine.
Confused but amused nonetheless, the two called the police to file a report. That was when they learned more information about the wayward machine.
“While we’re doing this, a van pulls up with two guys in it,” Silva said. “He calls over to me … he says a homeless guy abandoned it right there. He was pushing it down the boulevard and he left it there.”
The Whittier Police Department said it checked with two local hospitals, but neither was missing the machine. An investigator later learned the machine belongs to a local doctor who had recently moved his practice from the area to another location.
That doctor said he thought he’d taken all of his equipment but when he saw an image of the found machine, he realized the movers somehow missed it.
Officers said they plan to reunite the item with its rightful owner on Tuesday.
Local News
Bill that would have allowed undocumented students to work on campus vetoed – NBC Los Angeles
Citing concerns about a potential legal fallout, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed undocumented college students to work on campuses in California.
AB 2586 would have prohibited California colleges and universities from disqualifying students from being hired on campus if they were unable to provide proof of federal work authorization. The governor said his reason for the veto was federal funding potentially being at risk for employees and students since the federal law forbids employers from hiring undocumented individuals.
“I have to now struggle to figure out if I can even afford tuition for the next semester,” said Jeffrey Umana Munoz, a UCLA graduate who is studying for his master’s at Cal State LA. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to finish this master’s program.”
Munoz, who was brought to the US at the age of 2 from El Salvador, is part of a movement called Opportunity for All. The organization rallied across the UC and state college system to allow undocumented students to work.
Assemblymember David Alvarez, who authored the bill, said he found the veto a “profound disappointment” and said his efforts would not stop.
“Students who are legally allowed to study at California’s public colleges and universities should also be allowed to work to pay for their own education,” his statement read. “The students who worked together to bring this bill to the Legislature will continue to fight for it, and I will stand with them, along with the Latino Caucus.”
In the meantime, Opportunity for All will continue championing for its cause and said it plans to attend the UC Regents meeting in January to push for a similar bill.
Local News
Foothill Transit bus fatally strikes man in City of Industry – NBC Los Angeles
An investigation is underway after a bus struck and killed an elderly man in the City of Industry Monday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash was reported around 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of Azusa Avenue and Pepper Brook. CHP said a Foothill Transit bus on its way to La Habra was traveling northbound on Azusa when it hit a pedestrian.
An investigation is underway after a bus fatally struck a pedestrian in Hacienda Heights. Eliana Moreno reports for the NBC4 News at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
It’s unclear if the man was on a marked crosswalk or in the street.
A total of nine people, including the driver, were aboard the bus at the time of the crash. No one aboard the bus was injured.
Authorities did not release the name of the pedestrian who died.
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