Tag: nanny state

California Law Requires ID to Buy Muscle-Building Supplements in January

California will bar retailers from selling weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to anyone under 18 beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and will require them to card any shopper they cannot plainly tell is an adult.

The restrictions were created by Assembly Bill 2030, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 28. The New York Post reported Monday that the law reaches creatine products marketed for building muscle.

Any supplement marketed or represented as a way to lose weight or build muscle is covered. A legal analysis of the statute lists what a court can weigh in a close case. Creatine is named, along with green tea extract, raspberry ketone, garcinia cambogia, and green coffee bean extract. Label promises about appetite, metabolism, or strength also count. So does the shelf a store puts the product on.

Creatine itself is not banned outright.

Lowenthal tied the measure to social media marketing aimed at teenagers. He argued that children are being “pushed to buy untested supplements promising dramatic effects on their bodies,” pointing to what he described as dangerous “looksmaxxing” trends.

Supplement trade groups pushed back on how far the bill reaches. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association and the Council for Responsible Nutrition both objected to how far its criteria reach. Steve Mister of the nutrition council said its position was to “identify the actual risk and address it directly,” and the group warned in its veto request that the standard could capture fiber, protein, multivitamins, and general wellness products.

The American Herbal Products Association argued that protein, vitamin D, and creatine all touch muscle development or metabolism, meaning products nobody considers diet pills could be swept in on ingredients alone.

Newsom has approved other measures narrowing what minors can buy or use in California, including a 2024 law restricting smartphone use in public schools.

Dean Riley, a fitness enthusiast in Bakersfield, told Eyewitness News that teenagers are not overdosing on the products. “Ain’t no teenage kids coming to the vitamin store or GNC,” he said. Lucia Clevenger, who owns a supplement shop in the city, said the question comes down to parents.

Each violation can cost a retailer $500. The state attorney general can sue over it. So can a county counsel or a city attorney, and any of them can ask a court to order the sales stopped. Online sellers have their own set of rules. Before shipping into California, they must check a buyer’s name, birthdate, and address against government-sourced data, or use a delivery that requires an adult signature.

In 2024, the governor barred local governments from requiring photo identification to vote.

New York enacted the first such supplement restriction in 2023, and its version took effect in April 2024. The nutrition council has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review that law on First Amendment grounds.

Keep reading

While Ireland Deteriorates with Unchecked Migration, Government Lectures Grandparents on Hugging Their Grandchildren ‘Without Consent’

Like many countries in Europe, the very essence of Irish culture is being destroyed from within as Ireland grapples with the violent consequences of a torrent of migrants flowing into the country without any apparent limit and the financial and social implications that follow.

Reports suggest there are at least 322 migrant plantations spread across the country, some in rural parts of the island nation, which are changing the very fabric of the nation.

In 2025, MMA Champion Conor McGregor visited the White House for St. Patrick’s Day and delivered a devastating message about what is happening in his homeland thanks to Ireland’s globalist leaders.

A Sudanese migrant was charged over a medieval, barbaric knife attack in north Belfast that left a man with horrific injuries.

The Gateway Pundit reported on the stabbing of five people, including children, in 2023 in Dublin by an Algerian migrant.

Protests have erupted across the country, including in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, over plans to bring 50 male migrants to the small town.

The International Protection Accommodation Service reported roughly 33,250 people in its accommodation system at the end of 2025, a 450 percent increase since 2021.

Keep reading

TikTok To Pay Alabama At Least $100 Million, Add Teen Limits Before First State Trial

TikTok and its creator ByteDance struck a deal Friday with Alabama that will pay the state at least $100 million and force changes in how teenagers use the app, days before what would have been the first state trial over claims the platform was built to addict minors.

The money is due within 45 days. It can climb to $300 million if certain conditions are met, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office said. Alabama was set to select a jury on Monday.

“This is a great day for Alabama parents,” Marshall said. “Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction. TikTok has agreed to give parents real control over what their kids see and how much time they spend on the app.”

The complaint had accused TikTok of designing addictive features, exposing young users to serious mental harms, and misleading the public about safety.

TikTok did not admit those claims in the papers released Friday.

The company did not immediately return a request for comment.

The deal requires teen accounts in Alabama to have a two-hour daily cap, which parents can further shorten. After 15, 60, and 90 minutes of continuous use, the app must interrupt the session, a feature the office called “productive pauses,” intended to break endless scrolling.

Teen accounts will be unavailable from midnight to 6 a.m. Messaging and push alerts face extra limits overnight and during school hours. In addition, cosmetic filters are banned for teen users.

The default feed for those accounts is to remain non-personalized, and teen accounts are to be harder for adults to find. Parents get notice of suspicious contacts. Parental controls are supposed to be easier to use.

Last month, a multi-state Meta deal was set to bring Alabama $117 million on similar youth-harm allegations. Earlier, Roblox paid the state $12.2 million and agreed to tighter age checks and chat rules.

The Alabama deal arrives as other fights progress.

On Sept. 10, a Travis County, Texas, judge ruled that TikTok violated the state’s consumer protection law by misleading users about tools meant to keep minors from harmful videos. Judge Cory Liu found Restricted Mode did not work as marketed.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the case now goes to trial next month to set penalties.

“TikTok sacrificed the safety and innocence of children for engagement and numbers, and now they are being held accountable,” Paxton said then.

Keep reading

NANNY STATE: Zohran Mamdani Launching City Government Babysitting Service so Parents Can Have a Date Night

Conservatives used to joke that the left was trying to turn the government into a nanny state. Now, Zohran Mamdani is taking it literally.

The New York City mayor is launching a service where people in the city can drop their kids off at the park to be looked after by government officials while the parents can have a date night. What could possibly go wrong?

Would you be comfortable dropping your kids off at a New York City park and then going out to dinner?

ABC News in New York reports:

Date night, anyone? NYC launching free babysitting program for parents

New York City is giving parents a chance for a night off through a new pilot program that will provide free child care for hundreds of families next month.

Mayor Mamdani announced the launch of “Parents’ Night Out,” a city-sponsored program that will offer free babysitting for up to 500 children on Aug. 16 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Registration opens at 8 a.m. Monday and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Every parent knows that a few hours to yourself can feel like a luxury,” said Mayor Mamdani in prepared remarks. “It shouldn’t be. That’s why we’re launching New York City’s first-ever Parents’ Night Out, so that parents can get a little time on their own to catch a movie, run errands or go on a date without worrying about who will take care of the kids – or how much it will cost.”

The program is open to families with children ages 6 to 13 and will provide free child care at designated city recreation centers.

City officials say the initiative is designed to give parents and caregivers a break while children participate in supervised activities.

Keep reading

Federal Appeals Court Allows Ohio to Enforce Social Media Law Requiring Parental Consent for Minors

A federal appeals court has ruled that Ohio can enforce legislation requiring children under 16 to obtain parental consent before using social media platforms, marking a significant development in state-level efforts to regulate minors’ online activity.

TechSpot reports that the Cincinnati-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 decision overturning a lower court ruling that had previously blocked Ohio’s Social Media Parental Notification Act from taking effect. The law mandates that websites reasonably likely to be accessed by children under 16 must verify users’ ages and secure parental approval before allowing minors to create or use accounts.

The legislation was originally passed in 2023 and took effect in January 2024. However, it faced an immediate legal challenge from NetChoice, a technology industry advocacy group representing major platforms including Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snap, and X. A federal judge initially found the law unconstitutional and blocked its implementation, but the appeals court has now reversed that decision and sent the case back with instructions to lift the block.

In the majority opinion, Judge Eric Clay acknowledged that the law does impose some burden on speech but argued it is narrowly tailored to address what Ohio identified as a compelling state interest. According to Clay, the legislation aims to protect children from online harms and prevent them from agreeing to platform terms of service without proper supervision.

“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”

The decision represents a rare victory for state efforts to restrict minors’ access to social media platforms, as similar laws in other jurisdictions have been blocked on free speech grounds. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson praised the ruling as a win for families, stating it provides parents with necessary tools to monitor and control what their children view online.

Keep reading

California Marijuana Regulators Unveil New AI Tool To Prevent Product Packaging That May Appeal To Kids

California cannabis regulators are rolling out a new AI tool to help businesses identify marijuana product packaging may appeal to kids in violation of state rules.

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) on Monday announced that licensees can now utilize a Cannabis Product Image Analyzer (CPIA) that was developed to aid in preventing the market launch of potentially problematic packaging that violates state statute by enticing minors.

Marijuana business licensees can “simply snap a photo using their smart phone or mobile device, screenshot or any other supported file format and upload to the CPIA tool,” DCC said. “The image will be analyzed and provide a summary of its findings.”

DCC said it won’t retain images uploaded to the CPIA database, or the summaries of findings that it produces. Rather, the goal is to “assist licensees in their independent evaluation of whether packaging or labeling may be attractive to children.”

That includes packaging and labels that depict:

  • Images of minors or anyone under 21 years of age
  • Cartoons
  • A likeness to images, characters, or phrases that are popularly used to advertise to children
  • Images that are any imitation of candy packaging or labeling and
  • Images with the terms “candy” or “candies” or variants in spelling such as “kandy” or “kandeez”

“The CPIA uses artificial intelligence technology to review images submitted by a user to identify issues that may indicate attractiveness to children for further evaluation,” DCC said in a notice. “The CPIA may not identify all concerns an image may present, or that the Department may find attractive to children.”

Regulators stressed that licensees should not “rely on the CPIA’s output, as it does not establish definitively whether advertising or marketing violates” state rules. And if the tool finds that an uploaded image is likely compliant, that alone “does not preclude a finding by the Department or a factfinder in a disciplinary or administrative action from determining the uploaded image violates the regulation.”

“Because artificial intelligence systems evolve, update, or produce variable outputs, the CPIA’s evaluation may change from day to day, even when reviewing the same image. The quality, clarity, angle, lighting, or completeness of an image uploaded by a user may affect the CPIA’s review and assessment. Users are solely responsible for ensuring uploaded images accurately depict the product’s labeling.”

Cannabis licensees are being encouraged to provide feedback on the AI tool through an online survey.

Keep reading

EU chief turns up heat on social media’s ‘addictive’ design

The European Union is working on new rules to protect children from the addictive designs of social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta and X, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on May 12.

“Sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviour, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation, suicide. Risks are multiplying fast,” she said in a speech in Copenhagen.

“These risks are the reality of the digital world. They are not accidental. They are the result of business models that treat our children’s attention as a commodity.”

Ms von der Leyen said the commission would specifically target “addictive and harmful design practices” in its Digital Fairness Act (DFA), due to be proposed towards the end of 2026.

The DFA would also set strict limits on the use of artificial intelligence in social media, she said, while advocating a minimum age for social media access.

Ms von der Leyen said the EU must consider setting a minimum age for access to social media, adding that the commission might make a proposal in the summer on the issue following recommendations from a panel of experts.

“The question is not whether young people should have access to social media, the question is whether social media should have access to young people,” she said.

Keep reading

Shapiro’s AI Chatbot Plan Opens the Door to ID-Gated, Surveilled Conversations

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is suing Character Technologies for letting its AI chatbot impersonate a psychiatrist.

Shapiro then proposed ideas that would require a digital ID to use an AI companion bot, force companies to surveil every conversation children have with chatbots, and automatically report flagged messages to authorities.

The proposals first appeared in Shapiro’s February 2026 budget address. The May 5 lawsuit press release recycles them for a second round of coverage, using a real legal action as a vehicle for something far broader.

We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here.

Shapiro wants to “require age verification and parental consent to utilize AI companion bots.” Age verification that can’t be bypassed by typing a fake birthday means government-issued ID uploads, facial scans, credit card checks, or third-party identity services. There is no version of enforceable age verification that doesn’t harvest and store sensitive personal data. The proposal would turn chatbot access into an identity-checked activity, requiring you to prove who you are with documents before a bot will talk to you.

This mirrors Senator Josh Hawley’s federal GUARD Act, which the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced 22-0 on April 30. The GUARD Act explicitly states that a “reasonable age verification measure” cannot be a checkbox or a self-entered birth date. What it can be is a government ID, a biometric scan, or a financial record tied to your legal name.

Shapiro’s proposal doesn’t spell out its methods yet but if the goal is real enforcement rather than theater, it lands in the same place. Between Harrisburg and Washington, showing papers to chat is becoming a bipartisan consensus.

Keep reading

San Francisco plots outdoor smoking ban as locals erupt

San Francisco is rolling out a sweeping outdoor smoking ban that would snuff out cigarettes on bar patios and parklets across the city.

The move has ignited outrage among local business owners, who argue the draconian measure is just the latest example of government overreach putting neighborhood bars at risk.

The controversial ordinance, being crafted by Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Dr. John Maa of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society, would require bars and taverns to follow the same smoke-free outdoor regulations already imposed on restaurants under state and local law, KTVU reported.

If passed, customers would no longer be allowed to smoke while enjoying drinks at outdoor bar spaces across the notoriously left-leaning city.

Maa, a surgeon backing the proposal, insisted the crackdown is necessary to protect patrons, workers and pedestrians from secondhand smoke.

“This is to protect the patrons of these establishments and also importantly, the employees and anyone who might be exposed to secondhand smoke,” Maa told the outlet.

He argued San Francisco should put public health ahead of business profits.

But furious bar owners have slammed the proposal as an example of heavy-handed government meddling.

Keep reading

DYSTOPIAN Truck Tech: AI Scans Faces, Reads Lips & Checks Police Database BEFORE You Can Drive

A video exposing Ford’s dystopian patents for new vehicles has gone viral on X, fueling outrage over the accelerating war on personal vehicle ownership and freedom of movement. 

The clip details in-cabin cameras, biometric scanners, lip-reading AI, emotion detection, and real-time criminal database queries – all deciding whether your truck will let you drive.

In the video, the narrator states “imagine there was an emergency outside the truck… An accident…I jump in this truck. But it won’t shift into drive. Why? Because cameras and sensors inside of my cab won’t let me shift.”

“It detects that my eyes are big. There’s some emotion. Some panic. And doesn’t feel like I’m fit to drive. That isn’t science fiction. This is happening. Ford just filed patents,” he explains.

He continues: “Ford actually has a series of patents down at the U.S. Patent and Trade Office that deal with sensors and cameras inside their cab. And if that sensor determines you’re not fit to drive, the truck won’t shift from park to drive.”

The patents extend deep into control. Biometric systems scan face, iris, and fingerprint, cross-referencing law enforcement databases before allowing movement. 

“You wake up one morning, walk out to the driveway, climb into a vehicle with your name on the title… Before you go anywhere, before you’ve done a single thing wrong, your truck has already run your face through a law enforcement database. Ford’s own patent language describes this as ‘potentially useful for police,’” the narrator further outlines.

Lip-reading tech uses interior cameras and machine learning on vast mouth-movement datasets, plus inaudible sound waves. This enables not just voice commands in noisy conditions but also monitoring for targeted ads based on conversations. 

Ford Pro Telematics also already feeds live driver video to fleet managers.

This corporate push dovetails perfectly with government efforts to restrict mobility. Just weeks ago, Massachusetts Democrats advanced Senate Bill S.2246, directing MassDOT to set binding goals for slashing statewide vehicle miles traveled (VMT) under “climate” pretexts. 

The bill creates a new council to shove residents onto public transit, hitting rural drivers hardest who rely on cars for work, family, and essentials.

Keep reading