California AB1946: Reporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material.

What the bill says

An act to amend Sections 3273.65, 3273.66, 3273.67, and 3345.1 of the Civil Code, relating to social media platforms. social media platforms Reporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material…

From the chaptered text, September 10, 2026:

An act to amend Sections 3273.65, 3273.66, 3273.67, and 3345.1 of the Civil Code, relating to social media platforms. social media platforms Reporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material. Existing law requires a social media platform to take certain actions with respect to child sexual abuse material on the social media platform, including requiring the platform to provide, in a mechanism that is reasonably accessible to users, a means for a user who is a California resident to report material to the platform that the user reasonably believes meets certain criteria, including that the reported material is child sexual abuse material and that the reporting user is depicted in the material. Existing law also requires the social media platform to collect information reasonably sufficient to enable the platform to contact, as specified, a reporting user. Existing law defines child sexual abuse material for these purposes to include obscene matter that depicts a minor personally engaging in, or personally simulating, sexual conduct. This bill would revise the definition of child sexual abuse material to instead include an intimate visual depiction, as defined, of an identifiable individual who is a minor. The bill would additionally require the above-described mechanism to be clear and conspicuous, as defined, and would delete the requirement that the reporting user be depicted in the material. The bill would …

Read the full official text

Sponsors

• Buffy Wicks (D, AD14) · primary sponsor
• Maggy Krell (D, AD06) · primary sponsor
• Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D, AD04)
• Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D, AD16)
• Alexandra Macedo (R, AD33)
• Cottie Petrie-Norris (D, AD73)
• Ash Kalra (D, AD25)
• Catherine Stefani (D, AD19)

Latest actions

1. September 10, 2026: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 185, Statutes of 2026.
2. September 10, 2026: Approved by the Governor.
3. September 3, 2026: Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
4. August 26, 2026: Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6638.).
5. August 26, 2026: Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.).
6. August 26, 2026: In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
7. August 26, 2026: Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).
8. August 24, 2026: Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
9. August 21, 2026: Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
10. August 13, 2026: Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

Votes

• Assembly 3rd Reading AB1946 Wicks et al. By Gonzalez (August 26, 2026): 39 yea, 0 nay, passed
• AB 1946 Wicks Concurrence in Senate Amendments By KRELL (August 26, 2026): 78 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Do pass (August 13, 2026): 7 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Placed on suspense file (August 3, 2026): 7 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] (June 30, 2026): 13 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary] (June 29, 2026): 9 yea, 0 nay, passed

Common questions

What is AB1946?

AB1946 is a bill in the California Legislature (2025-2026 Regular Session): Reporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material.

What does AB1946 do?

In its own words: An act to amend Sections 3273.65, 3273.66, 3273.67, and 3345.1 of the Civil Code, relating to social media platforms. social media platforms Reporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material…

What is the status of AB1946?

Chaptered as of September 10, 2026. Latest action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 185, Statutes of 2026. (September 10, 2026).

Who sponsored AB1946?

Buffy Wicks (D, AD14), with 7 co-sponsors.

Where is the official record for AB1946?

On the California Legislature website: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1946