Overview
- California lawmakers approved a package of more than two dozen AI and social media bills that passed the Legislature on Monday night and now sit on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for a final decision.
- Assembly Bill 1709 would bar platforms from offering defined “addictive” features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithmic recommendations and push notifications to users under 16 and would force platforms to remove or alter accounts they cannot serve without those features if the law takes effect in January 2027.
- Senate Bill 1119, known as Adam’s Law, would require AI companion chatbots to verify users’ ages, run risk assessments, provide parental controls and crisis connections, limit targeted ads to minors and submit to independent audits if enacted with provisions reported to start on July 1, 2027.
- OpenAI publicly urged Gov. Newsom to sign SB 1119 and has rolled out teen-specific safeguards, while civil‑liberties groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have urged a veto of AB 1709 over privacy and free‑speech concerns and reports conflict over whether CEO Sam Altman directly contacted Newsom.
- The bills expand enforcement and liability by empowering the attorney general, creating an e‑safety advisory structure, and restricting sale of minors’ chatbot data, but they raise unresolved questions about privacy-safe age verification, compliance costs for smaller companies and likely legal challenges that could shape national policy.