CA governor signs 'landmark' laws on youth use of social media and AI chatbots

They’re aimed at protecting minors, but the rules are not universally supported.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed multiple measures aimed at protecting the state's youth. These new laws include restrictions for potentially addictive social media features and limitations on how young users can interact with AI chatbots.

The state is enacting restrictions on how teens can interact with chatbots from AI companies, including time limits. Chatbot makers will be required to implement mental health resources, safety protocols in case a minor discusses self harm and notifications for parents if a child turns off safety settings. California will now require "independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments" by AI companies. AI companies could face legal liability under these rules if they fail to meet the new rules. Today's developments follow measures Newsom signed yesterday that created broader frameworks for auditing AI companies for compliance with California law.

One of the more divisive measures Newsom passed centers on teen use of social media. The state now prohibits social media companies from letting users under age 16 access potentially "addictive features." The bill's definition of "addictive" includes wide-ranging capabilities from autoplaying videos to notifications to personalized algorithm-driven content feeds.

Critics such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation called this measure a functional ban on social media for teens. "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," EFF Associate Director of State Affairs Rindala Alajaji said. The organization added that enforcing this policy would also force all social media users to disclose more personal information to prove their age, creating additional privacy risks. This is one of the arguments many parties have long taken against other age verification laws.

Newsom signed additional measures with similar goals of protecting youth from potentially risky tech applications. Those include an expanded definition of child sexual exploitation to include generative AI-made or digitally altered images. Another bill offers new protections against targeted advertising and regulates AI systems' use of data about K-12 students.