California adds protections for kids using social media, AI chatbots

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a handful of bills Monday intended to protect children online by putting guardrails on the emerging tech.

The bills — signed on the final day Newsom can ink his name on legislation or veto it — range from imposing a warning for children on major social media platforms to preventing companies from assigning blame to artificial intelligence as a legal defense.

“Emerging technology like chatbots and social media can inspire, educate, and connect — but without real guardrails, technology can also exploit, mislead and endanger our kids,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability.”

Assembly Bill 56 — written by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, an Orinda Democrat — will require by 2027 that certain social media platforms display a mental health warning to kids about the harms social media poses. The warnings must occur when a child first logs on, after three hours of use and each hour afterward.

Bauer-Kahan has said youth across the globe have faced higher rates of depression, self-harm and suicide, with evidence pointing to online addiction as a problem.

“More time on social media tends to be correlated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders and interference with daily life, including establishing healthy sleep patterns,” she said in a bill analysis.

Senate Bill 243 — written by state Senator Steve Padilla, a San Diego Democrat — seeks to protect people who use chatbots. It will prohibit a chatbot from engaging with a user unless its operator has a system for preventing the possibility of suicidal thoughts or self-harm. That prevention could include a notification referring users to crisis service providers, like a telephone hotline.

Chatbots also must inform children that they’re interacting with an AI.

“According to experts, AI companion chatbots are uniquely addictive and can pose a significant risk to users — especially children who are more vulnerable to the isolating and addictive nature of these bots,” Padilla said in a bill analysis.

The bills also touch on the larger scope of regulating AI and its legal implications.

Assembly Bill 853 — written by Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks — targets harmful content, like deepfake pornography, by adding transparency to what’s been created by AI.

Called the California AI Transparency Act, the bill requires large online platforms create a method for people to access the historical record of data about uploaded content. It also requires manufacturers of capture devices — for example, a device used to stream someone playing a video game — ensure users can include data history in their content.

The legislation seeks to build a framework allowing for a massive classification system of content as being real or artificial.

According to Wicks, her bill will offer more transparency about what is made by AI, and mitigate some negative impacts of such content.

Newsom issued a rare signing statement about the bill.

“This bill is a critical step in allowing us to clearly distinguish the real from the synthetic, and thereby enhance trust in the use of AI in our everyday lives,” he said, adding that he wants follow-up legislation next year, before Wicks’ bill goes into effect.

Assembly Bill 316 ensures that a defendant in a civil suit can’t argue that an AI acted autonomously as a defense.

“This bill ensures that companies benefiting from the use of AI are also responsible for the harms AI may cause,” said Assemblymember Maggy Krell, a Sacramento Democrat and bill author, in an analysis. “By eliminating a potential AI defense theory, this bill encourages careful vetting of AI products before they are used and ensures that there is a legal entity held to account if AI is shown to violate the law.”