Gavin Newsom has signed thirteen texts: time limits and parental alerts for chatbots, a ban on addictive mechanics for children under 16, a moratorium on conversational toys.
In September 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a set of thirteen bills aimed at protecting minors online, two of which directly concern conversational systems and attention-grabbing mechanisms.
The first part, dubbed the Adam Raine Law after a teenager who died in 2025, imposes limits on the time of use of chatbots for minors, the integration of mental health resources, and the obligation to alert parents when a threat of self-harm is detected, with legal liability for designers in the event of a breach. The second forces social networks to choose: either disable devices deemed addictive, such as endless scrolling and autoplay, for users under the age of 16, or close their access to the platform entirely.
The rest of the package completes this edifice: the liability of platforms for harm caused to children, strengthened age verification, a four-year moratorium on AI-based conversational toys for children under 16, auditing standards for AI tools, and restrictions on the collection of data from children. In the absence of a federal framework, California continues to set rules that publishers apply in practice well beyond its borders.
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