California signs laws banning addictive social feeds and regulating AI chatbots for minors

Bans on addictive social feeds

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation on 10 September 2026 barring social media platforms from providing addictive features to users under 16 years old without parental consent. Under Assembly Bill 1709, digital platforms cannot deliver personalized algorithmic recommendation feeds, autoplay videos, push notifications, or infinite scroll mechanisms to younger teens. The bill cleared the Democratic-controlled state legislature in late August 2026. State lawmakers structured the policy to restrict product designs that prolong screen time among minors, joining measures enacted earlier in spring 2026 in Idaho and South Carolina.

AI chatbot guardrails under Adam's Law

The legislative package also introduces strict operating requirements for artificial intelligence chatbots under Senate Bill 1119, known as Adam's Law. The bill is named after Adam Raine, a California teenager who died by suicide following extensive interactions with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The measure mandates age verification, restricts advertising targeted at minors, limits exposure to inappropriate material, and requires AI applications to notify younger users that they are communicating with an automated program rather than a human. The bill was co-authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and State Senator Steve Padilla, who focused on removing continuous conversation memory for underage users.

“They have to have default settings that are the most protective of our children, which includes the lack of persistent memory.”

Corporate compliance and privacy disputes

Under the new statutes, AI developers must complete independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments, facing civil liability if their systems fail to meet state safety standards. Platforms must establish clear protocols when minors discuss self-harm, embed mental health resources, and alert parents if a minor turns off safety settings. OpenAI supported SB 1119 after legislators introduced amendments clarifying conditions under which chatbots can retain conversation data with parental consent. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman reached out to Newsom prior to the legislative vote, though the company stated the two did not speak directly. Civil liberties groups challenged the social media and age verification mandates, arguing they compromise broader user privacy. Rindala Alajaji, Associate Director of State Affairs at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, voiced opposition to the restrictions.

“Denying minors access to digital forums - or stripping out basic tools needed to navigate them - is not going to help make young people safer or healthier in the AI age.”

Broader tech enforcement and federal critique

Additional measures signed by Newsom expand the legal definition of child sexual exploitation to encompass synthetic images created by generative AI and place restrictions on AI data collection regarding K-12 students. The bills follow a previous framework signed on 9 September 2026 establishing state auditing standards for AI firms. The regulatory action follows an $18 billion settlement reached by Meta in Oakland, California, which resolved claims from state attorneys general regarding platform effects on children. Under that settlement, Meta agreed to disable notifications during school hours and block Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m. for younger users. Speaking at a bill-signing event in the San Francisco Bay Area, Newsom criticized the federal government for failing to establish national standards.

“We're going to again lead the nation, but the bar is pretty damn low, and that's what's so frustrating. The United States of America can't get out of its own damn way? Congress and the president can't lead to get this done? It's an abomination; it's absurd.”