Sammy’s Law in California seeks to protect youth from social media drug sales
On Feb. 7, 2021, Sammy Berman Chapman, 16, was silently killed in his Santa Monica home. The culprit: a fentanyl-laced pill the teen had purchased on social media.
Now his parents Sam Chapman and Laura Berman are fighting to pass SB 1444 in the California state legislature, known as the Let Parents Choose Protection Act of 2024 — or Sammy’s Law. The bill would require all major social media platforms to allow integration with third-party monitoring software, which can notify parents when dangers—such as drug and firearm sales, bullying or suicidal thoughts—appear on their children’s accounts.
“Had Sammy’s Law been in place, Sammy would still be alive today,” said Laura Berman, fighting back tears during a committee hearing in Sacramento on Tuesday, April 23. “It’s not going to save Sammy’s life, but my other kids are not doing to die because of the risks of social media and the dangers, and the predators, and the drug dealers that our children are being exposed to.”
Sammy’s parents had no clue the teen was conversing with a drug dealer on Snapchat and wish they’d been able to monitor his account.
“He (the dealer) delivered a lethal dose of fentanyl to our home after we were asleep, like delivering pizza,” said Chapman. “Our boy didn’t even have to leave his front yard to get the dose that killed him.”
SB 1444 was authored by state Senator Henry Stern, D-Calabasas, and cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday afternoon, bringing it one step closer to becoming law. Stern did not attending the meeting as he was observing the Passover holiday, so state Senator Dave Min, D-Irvine, presented the bill on his behalf.
“The extent of alarm that social media is inflicting upon children is ongoing, pervasive and severe,” said Min. “Despite raising awareness of these harms over recent years and various legislative efforts, the risk to children’s health and welfare from social media use continues. Third party safety software is an existing proven solution to rapidly increase safety for young adult social media users.”
Third party parental monitoring software can already be used on platforms such as Reddit and Tumblr. However, most of the largest social media companies–such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat–do not allow this software to integrate with their platforms.
Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety, said that is because the major players worry that their users will migrate to other platforms if they voluntarily allow parental monitoring.
“The problem is that there’s a conflict of interest with business motives and safety,” he said. “If we create a level playing field, we can allow parents to have access to all the platforms that their children are using.”
The bill has opposition from the technology industry advocacy groups TechNet and Computer and Communications Industry Association, as well as the nonprofit civil liberty organization the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
These groups expressed concerns that the third party monitoring platforms could infringe on children’s privacy and put their data at risk.
“This bill provides very little in the way of protections for user data,” said Dylan Hoffman representing TechNet, adding that the bill will require platforms to provide a minor’s data to “third parties that have not been properly vetted or approved.”
Hoffman also shared a fear that the software would allow invasive surveillance and expose children in unsupportive homes to danger from their parents.
Min explained that the bill has already incorporated several guardrails and amendments in response to these concerns.
For example, the monitoring software will not be allowed to provide parents with any information on their children’s reproductive decisions or gender and sexual identity. The bill also stipulates that minors must be informed if their parents choose to use this software.
Lastly, all third-party monitoring software will be required to register with the Attorney General’s Office, submit audits for the AG’s review and will lose their right to do business in the state if they inappropriately expose a minor’s data.
“The author’s office wanted me to emphasize that they remain committed to working with the committee, their staff and opposition to address all concerns regarding children’s privacy and data security,” said Min.
Chapman and Berman are also advocating for a federal version of Sammy’s Law, HR 5778, which was authored by Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz. Earlier this year they joined a group of 20 grieving parents who traveled to D.C. to advocate in support of the law and other proposed bills to protect children on social media.
Should the federal version of Sammy’s Law fail to pass, Chapman hopes the California bill will prevail and have a widespread impact.
“Our hope is if you vote at the state level it will make it hard for the platforms to function with a patchwork of state protections—they’re not able to tell who’s in California and who’s in Nevada—and so they have to take the most restrictive law and work it across the country,” said Chapman.
Chapman is not naive in thinking that a state law could drive national change. Stricter consumer and environmental regulations passed in California have often led to companies adopting these standards across America.
In fact, this phenomenon is so common that political scientists have given it a name: “the California Effect.”
The SB 1444 will now proceed to the Senate Appropriations Committee and then, if approved, to the senate floor for a third vote and then onto the assembly for a final vote.
“I would drop to my knees,” said Sam Chapman, describing how he’d feel if the bill is enacted. “I get choked up just thinking about that. I mean, it would protect millions of kids.”