California imposes new limitations on children’s use of social media

Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed new regulations into law that forbid tech companies from selling products with AI-powered companion chatbots and from exposing adolescents under 16 to social media. It features that encourage behavioral addiction.

These two laws, together with improved internet privacy protections for kids. Were part of a package of 13 bills that Newsom authorized to shield youth from potentially harmful technologies.

Another bill broadened the criminal penalties associated with child sexual abuse material to include any digitally altered or artificial intelligence-generated content that shows a person under the age of eighteen doing sexual acts.

For the following four years, it will also be illegal to produce and market toys with companion chatbots. Along with other safety and risk assessments, a related policy requires chatbot programs to incorporate parental controls.

These rules are the most extensive in the nation, according to Newsom. In honor of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who committed suicide in April 2025 after acting, according to his parents. Under the influence of suicidal thoughts reinforced throughout months of chats with ChatGPT, OpenAI’s application, the bill was dubbed «Adam’s Law.»

OpenAI declared that it will enhance ChatGPT’s security protocols, which it admitted had grown «less reliable» as user interactions got longer.

California—home to major internet companies such as Google, Meta Platforms, and Snap Inc.—is joining a growing list of U.S. states cracking down on business strategies deliberately designed to hook teenagers on social media. Despite evidence that excessive use harms mental health.

Although the bill enjoyed broad bipartisan support, some critics opposed it, viewing it as an unnecessary restriction on young people’s access to the internet. Among them is the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which described the initiative as “a massive privacy and free speech nightmare.”