California Lawmaker Wants Tech to Fund Mental Health Research

A California state lawmaker intends to sponsor legislation that would require social media platforms to fund and potentially conduct research around their technology’s impact on mental health.

Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D), the chamber’s No. 2 official, contends such a measure would hold companies such as Meta Platforms Inc. accountable for the negative effects caused by their products, particularly upon children.

“We don’t know enough right now. We need to truly dedicate research to this, since this is actually the biggest change in our behavior in the last 100 years,” Lowenthal said in an interview with Bloomberg Government on Jan. 14. ...