The gym door swung shut just as Mara reached it. Inside, her son Eli sat at a folding table with the other members of the teen council. A bright poster showed two doors. One said more rules. The other said more choice.
Mara had come to hear a plan for the town's youth center. The center would block autoplay and feeds built from a child's past clicks. The center would also ask for an age signal before some features opened. The plan came after California signed new laws about social media and companion chatbots.
On a side table, parents picked up a one-page guide. It listed what the center could block, what it could save, and who could change the setting. No one agreed on who should hold that last key.
'Mom, they want one rule for every kid,' Eli said. 'What if my friends use the app to find help with homework?'
Across the room, Jayden raised a hand. His little sister used a chatbot each night. He said the tool kept her company when their parents worked late. 'She needs a guardrail,' he said. 'The app shouldn't get to decide how close it gets to her.'
Mara looked at the paper in front of her. The town could set one rule for everyone under sixteen. It could also leave the choice with each family. Either way, the center would have to explain what it blocked, what it saved, and who could change the setting.
Eli slid his pen toward her. 'They want our vote before dinner.'
Mara read the two lines again. One path gave parents a clear wall to point to. The other kept the wall in the home, where each family knew its own child.
The board chair lifted the box for the paper votes. Mara held the pen above the first line.