By Tali Arbel
NEW YORK (AP) --Harvey Weinstein is leaving the board of the film company he started, more than a week after the firm fired him following allegations of sexual harassment and rape.
The Weinstein Co.'s board said in a statement Tuesday that Weinstein had resigned. Weinstein holds a roughly 20 percent stake in his company, according to a person close to Weinstein who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The person declined to comment on the future of that holding.
His departure from the company comes as it deals with turmoil in the aftermath of more than three dozen women publicly accusing Weinstein of abuse. Industry players have cut ties, or threatened to cut ties , with The Weinstein Co. The Producers Guild of America has started the process of expelling Weinstein, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group behind the Oscars, has revoked his membership.
Board member Tarak Ben Ammar said Monday that it was negotiating a potential sale of all or part of the company, which was founded in 2005 by Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein after they left Disney.
Bob Weinstein had maintained last week that business was continuing "as usual" for the company and that its board was not exploring a sale or shutdown.
Company representatives did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More