‘Superhighways for child sexual abuse’: California lawmakers seek tougher rules for big tech

Online exploitation ‘inflicting profound trauma on a staggering number of children’, Democrats say Frustrated with what they describe as a lack of accountability from social media companies, two California state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would clear a legal pathway for them to face lawsuits in the state for failing to detect or remove child sexual abuse material on their websites and apps. Assembly members Maggy Krell and Buffy Wicks, both Democrats, said they are spurred by witnessing how online exploitation is inflicting “profound trauma on a staggering number of children”, in an interview with the Guardian. Continue reading...

Katie McQue · Fri, Apr 24, 2026, 6:00 AM
California | The Guardian

‘Superhighways for child sexual abuse’: California lawmakers seek tougher rules for big tech

Online exploitation ‘inflicting profound trauma on a staggering number of children’, Democrats say

Frustrated with what they describe as a lack of accountability from social media companies, two California state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would clear a legal pathway for them to face lawsuits in the state for failing to detect or remove child sexual abuse material on their websites and apps.

Assembly members Maggy Krell and Buffy Wicks, both Democrats, said they are spurred by witnessing how online exploitation is inflicting “profound trauma on a staggering number of children”, in an interview with the Guardian.

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