The major health bills signed this week by California Governor Newsom focus on the impact of technology on children.
New laws signed by Governor Gavin Newsom aim to make California’s artificial intelligence and social media landscape safer, especially for minors.
Senate bill 243sponsored by State Sen. Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista), will require AI companies to build in guardrails that prevent so-called “companion” chatbots from talking to users of any age about suicide or self-harm. It also requires all AI systems to alert miners using chatbots every three hours that they are not human. Systems are also prohibited from promoting any sexually explicit behavior to underage users.
The law, which will be promulgated on January 1, follows several trials filed against developers in which families allege their children committed suicide after being influenced by an AI chatbot companion.
In a similar vein, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 316, which removes a civil legal defense that some AI developers use to argue that they are not responsible for harm caused by their products. They argued that their AI products act autonomously – and therefore there is no legal case to blame the developers.
In an analysis of the bill for lawmakers, Rep. Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento) wrote that this change will force developers to better control their product and ensure they can be held accountable if their product causes harm to its users.
Another bill, AB 621, increases civil penalties for AI developers who knowingly create non-consensual “deepfake” AI pornography. Maximum penalties range from $30,000 to $50,000, and from $150,000 to $250,000 in cases where the courts determine that the acts were carried out with malice.
The bill’s author, Rep. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), highlighted how this technology has been used to harm minors. “In one recent case,” she noted in an analysis supporting the bill, “five students were expelled from a Beverly Hills college after creating and sharing AI-generated nude photos of their classmates.”
Another AI bill, SB 53 from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), was signed into law by Newsom in late September. This will require large AI companies to publicly disclose certain safety and security protocols and report critical security incidents to the state. It is also creating a public AI computing cluster – CalCompute – which will provide resources to startups and researchers developing large AI systems.
Bauer-Kahan is also the author of AB 56, which will require social media companies to place a warning label on their platforms for minors starting in 2027. The warning label must tell children and adolescents that social media is associated with mental health problems and may not be safe.
“People across the country – including myself – are increasingly concerned about big tech’s failure to protect children who interact with their products. Today, California is making clear that we will not sit around and wait until companies decide to prioritize the well-being of children over their profits,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who sponsored the bill, said in a news release. “By adding warning labels to social media platforms, AB 56 gives California a new tool to protect our children.”
Other bills recently approved by Newsom seek to challenge the internet’s hold on young people and their mental health.
AB 1043, for example, will require app stores and device manufacturers to collect users’ age data to ensure they comply with age verification requirements. Many tech companies, including Google and Meta, have endorsed the bill, authored by Rep. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland).
AB 772 will require the state’s K-12 schools to develop a policy by mid-2027 on managing bullying and cyberbullying that occurs off-campus. “After-school bullying follows the student to school and into the classroom, creating a hostile environment at school,” wrote author and Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) in an analysis of the bill.
Supporters of the Los Angeles County Office of Education wrote in an earlier analysis that because students today are constantly connected to the Internet, bullying does not stop when school lets out. Additionally, according to the analysis, social media and text messages can broadcast bullying to a wider audience than ever before.
The California School Boards Assn. opposed AB 772, saying it was inappropriate for school officials to take responsibility for students’ actions outside of school. Newsom signed the bill last weekend and included it in a broader package of bills intended to protect children from the effects of social media.
“Emerging technologies like chatbots and social media can inspire, educate and connect – but without real guardrails, technology can also exploit, deceive and endanger our children. We have seen truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated technology, and we will not stand idly by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,” Newsom said in a press release Monday. “We can continue to lead in AI and technology, but we must do so responsibly, protecting our children every step of the way. Our children’s safety is not for sale.”
