California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of more than 10 measures imposing new restrictions on social media platforms and artificial-intelligence chatbots used by minors. The legislation includes Assembly Bill 1709, which prohibits covered platforms from offering users under 16 features deemed addictive, including autoplay and algorithmically recommended feeds, and Senate Bill 1119, or “Adam’s Law,” which requires companion-chatbot operators to conduct risk assessments, strengthen age verification, provide crisis protections and implement parental safeguards. The package reflects growing bipartisan concern that sophisticated technology companies have built products capable of influencing children faster than parents and existing law can reasonably respond, although critics warn that mandatory age verification and expanded government regulation could create new privacy, free-speech and enforcement problems.
Key Takeaways
- California will prohibit covered social-media platforms from providing users under 16 with specified “addictive” features, including autoplay and certain algorithmically recommended feeds, forcing companies either to provide compliant alternatives or restrict minors’ access.
- Adam’s Law establishes extensive requirements for companion-chatbot operators, including age verification, risk assessments, crisis resources for minors expressing suicidal or self-harming thoughts, parental notification provisions and independent safety audits.
- The legislation puts greater responsibility on technology companies for protecting minors, but it also raises legitimate conservative concerns about government power, privacy, mandatory age verification and whether regulators can protect children without unnecessarily restricting lawful online speech and parental choice.
In-Depth
California has enacted an aggressive package regulating how minors interact with social media and artificial intelligence. The measures reflect a legitimate concern: powerful technology companies have spent years refining systems designed to capture attention, while parents lack comparable tools for supervision.
Assembly Bill 1709 targets that imbalance by barring covered platforms from giving users under 16 access to features deemed addictive, including autoplay and algorithmically recommended feeds. Platforms will have to determine users’ ages and provide younger users with versions stripped of prohibited features. Supporters argue that the law attacks the design mechanisms that encourage compulsive use rather than blaming families.
Senate Bill 1119, known as Adam’s Law, applies a similar accountability principle to companion chatbots. Operators must conduct risk assessments, strengthen age verification, provide crisis resources when minors express suicidal or self-harming thoughts, establish parental controls and submit safety audits. Families and the state will also gain avenues to pursue alleged violations.
The conservative case for protecting children is strong, but so is the case for limiting government overreach. Age-verification systems can require collection of sensitive information, while broad restrictions may reduce lawful speech and access to useful online communities. Enforcement will also determine whether these laws provide meaningful protection or merely create a costly and ineffective regulatory bureaucracy.
California is therefore now conducting a consequential statewide experiment. The proper standard should be straightforward: protect minors from demonstrable technological harms, preserve parental authority and privacy, and require government to prove that every mandate is narrowly tailored, enforceable and accountable.