Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal discusses his bill, AB 2223, with the Sacramento Bee. AB 2223 would establish reporting standards for health care staffing contracts at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“A California lawmaker wants more transparency around how state prisons use contract workers instead of civil service employees after an audit found that several facilities have increasingly relied on private contractors, who often cost the state more in hourly wages, to meet required staffing levels.

Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal sat down with the Long Beach Post to discuss his bill, AB 1709, which would limit social media for kids under 16 years of age.

“Democratic Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal said the recent landmark court verdicts in New Mexico and Los Angeles ‘reaffirm our need to keep kids safe online.’ Yet while the rulings ‘are a good start,’ they don’t protect children aside from the plaintiffs. Lowenthal aims to change that, demanding oversight of the multi-trillion-dollar industry of social media.”

Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal’s op-ed in Capitol Weekly on the need for greater social media regulation in the wake of the New Mexico and Los Angeles social media trials.

“Right now, our regulatory system for digital platforms is woefully outdated. We regulate automobiles, pharmaceuticals and food products precisely because we recognize that unregulated markets can and do produce harmful outcomes.

Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal responds to the landmark social media verdicts in New Mexico and Los Angeles.

“Meta and YouTube, along with TikTok and Snap, have built platforms that are like casinos. They’re marketing them like they’re toys,” said Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, the Long Beach Democrat spearheading California’s effort to restrict social media access for kids under 16. “And now, they have to pay the price.”