California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of laws aimed at reducing harms to children from social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots. The laws allow penalties of up to $1 million per child when a large social-media company is found negligent in harming a minor through its platform.
Another measure bars addictive social-media feeds for users under 16 and requires AI chatbot operators to conduct risk assessments before releasing their systems. Families will also gain an option to decline school-issued laptops, addressing a separate concern about how institutions introduce children to networked devices.
Newsom vetoed a bill that would have prohibited chatbots for people under 18 unless companies could guarantee they would not encourage self-harm or engage in sexual conversations. Supporters cited cases in which families said chatbot interactions contributed to serious harm, while the veto left the broader access question unresolved.
State technology laws often face implementation questions involving age assurance, privacy, interstate services and federal constitutional protections. Risk assessments document anticipated harms and safeguards but do not themselves prove that a product is safe in every individual interaction. California’s market size means platform changes made for state compliance can influence product design beyond its borders even before other states act.
Newsom signed the package at a children’s museum near San Francisco alongside lawmakers and families who described harms they attributed to minors’ interactions with online platforms and chatbots.
At the edition deadline, the laws’ practical effect will depend on regulations, enforcement, litigation and how companies verify age without collecting excessive personal information. The next documented developments will be implementation guidance and the first enforcement cases and court challenges and whether companies apply California controls nationally.