California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 13 bills on Sept. 10 that gives the state the nation's strongest rules on children, social media and AI chatbots — and sets a template other states have already begun copying.

The headline measure is SB 1119, Adam's Law, named for Adam Raine, a California teenager who died after extended conversations with ChatGPT about self-harm methods; his family is suing OpenAI. The law requires companion-chatbot operators to run age verification, keep minors away from inappropriate content, install crisis protocols for suicidal ideation, give parents controls, and notify them when a child disables safety settings. It makes California the first state to mandate independent child-safety audits and annual risk assessments. Companion chatbots may not, by default, keep persistent memory of a minor's conversations without parental consent.

AB 1709 prohibits platforms from serving users under 16 algorithmic recommendation feeds based on their history, along with autoplay and infinite scroll — the features researchers most consistently tie to extreme screen time. AB 2 opens platforms to civil penalties of up to $1 million per affected child where they are shown to have contributed to anxiety, depression or other harm, with courts able to treble damages in serious cases. AB 1856 builds the age-verification plumbing: from 2027, new phones and laptops will ask for a birth date and pass app developers only an age-band signal, not the date itself; Linux and other open systems are carved out. AB 2071 puts digital-media literacy into the curriculum, alongside cybersecurity instruction.

The industry largely stood down. OpenAI backed the bill after late changes, and CEO Sam Altman spoke with Newsom beforehand; Meta called the package a sensible balance between AI's opportunities and risks.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is not convinced. It calls AB 1709 censorship that curtails minors' expression and argues that genuine safety comes from media literacy rather than isolation — which is why it backs the education provisions even while opposing the bans.

Newsom used the signing to take a swing at Washington, saying it is frustrating that Congress and President Trump have done nothing and that California must lead again.

Sources