California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Sunday that would hold Facebook-owned Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms liable for failing to combat the spread of child sexual abuse material.

Under the new law, Assembly Bill 1394, social media platforms would be prohibited from knowingly facilitating, supporting or encouraging commercial sexual exploitation beginning in January 2025. exploitation facilitated, supported or hindered by the social media platform. The platforms can avoid lawsuits by conducting semi-annual audits to identify potentially harmful designs, algorithms and features and fix any problems.

AB 1394 also requires social media platforms to provide California users with a way to report child sexual abuse material depicting them and respond to the report within 36 hours. If they did not meet certain requirements, such as permanently blocking the material, they would also be liable for damages.

Industry groups NetChoice and TechNet opposed the legislation, saying it would have a chilling effect on freedom of expression because tech platforms could ultimately remove more legal content or disable features popular among teens. The groups have not said whether they plan to sue AB 1394, but have warned lawmakers that legal challenges could come.

California is already facing lawsuits over laws targeting online platforms. X, formerly known as Twitter, has sued California over a law that requires social media companies to disclose their content moderation policies and provide a report to the California attorney general. A federal judge also temporarily blocked an online child safety law in September after NetChoice, a group that includes Facebook parents.

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company Meta, Google and TikTok filed a lawsuit against California.