EFF urges Newsom to veto California AB 1709
The digital rights group asks the governor to block a newly passed bill that would broadly restrict young people’s social media use.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to veto Assembly Bill 1709 after the legislature passed the measure.
AB 1709 would impose sweeping limits on social media use by young people, effectively functioning as a broad age-based ban rather than a narrow safety rule. The EFF is pressing Newsom to reject it before it becomes law.
The appeal fits a wider fight over state age-verification and youth-access mandates. Civil liberties advocates argue such rules push platforms toward heavier identity checks, chill anonymous speech, and create privacy and access problems that reach well beyond the minors lawmakers say they aim to protect. California has repeatedly been a flashpoint in that debate, and the EFF’s veto call marks another bid to stop the latest bill from taking effect.