Quick Review

• California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 13 bipartisan child online safety bills on September 10, 2026.
• AB 1709 restricts autoplay, infinite scroll, and personalized algorithmic feeds for users under 16.
• Adam’s Law, SB 1119, creates new safeguards for companion chatbots, including crisis protocols, parental controls, risk assessments, and independent audits.
• AB 2 creates civil penalties when social media companies knowingly fail to protect children from harm.
• SB 867 places a four-year moratorium on companion chatbot toys marketed for children under 16.
• The laws may influence technology design across the country, but enforcement, privacy concerns, court challenges, and age verification remain open questions.

Author: SCN Staff
Published: September 12, 2026

California has enacted one of the most comprehensive child online safety packages in the United States, placing new responsibilities on social media companies, AI chatbot operators, technology providers, and toy manufacturers.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 13-bill package on September 10 at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Marin County, describing the measures as the nation’s strongest restrictions on addictive social media features and companion chatbots.

“Our children’s safety deserves to be at the center of every conversation about technology,” Newsom said in the Governor’s announcement. “Innovation comes with responsibility and protecting our children comes first.”

For parents, the important point is that these laws do not simply tell children to make better choices. They place greater responsibility on companies to change the environments they create.

What California’s New Social Media Law Does

Assembly Bill 1709 prohibits covered platforms from providing users under 16 with addictive features, including infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds based on a user’s history or profile.

Platforms will generally have two choices:

• Disable covered addictive features for users under 16.
• Keep those users off the service if a compliant, less-engaging version is not available.

The law defines an addictive feature as a psychologically exploitative design element intended to maximize engagement and reasonably likely to contribute to compulsive use. The CalMatters bill summary explains that the law also creates an e-Safety Advisory Commission within California’s Department of Justice.

The restrictions are scheduled to take effect in 2027 and will work alongside California’s age-assurance framework. This means platforms will need a reliable way to determine whether users fall into the under-16 category, creating a new national debate over privacy, accuracy, and age verification.

Parents may eventually see:

• Feeds that stop rather than continue endlessly.
• Videos that do not begin playing automatically.
• Fewer recommendations based on a child’s previous viewing and engagement.
• More neutral or chronological content options.
• New prompts asking users to confirm their age range.

The law does not eliminate social media access for every minor. Instead, it targets design features that encourage prolonged, personalized engagement.

Adam’s Law Creates New Chatbot Safeguards

Senate Bill 1119, known as Adam’s Law, addresses a different kind of risk: the emotional relationship that children may form with AI companion chatbots.

The law is named after 16-year-old Adam Raine, who died by suicide in 2025 after months of conversations with ChatGPT, according to reporting about his family’s lawsuit and statements made at the signing ceremony. Adam had initially used the chatbot for help with mathematics.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the law is intended to require chatbot operators to build stronger safeguards around self-harm, crisis situations, and parental involvement.

Among its requirements are:

• Crisis protocols when a child expresses suicidal ideation or self-harm.
• Timely access to crisis support resources.
• Reporting procedures for suicide or self-harm threats.
• Parental controls for young users.
• Notifications when a child disables safety settings.
• Time limits for children using companion chatbots.
• Restrictions on targeted advertising to minors.
• Independent child-safety audits.
• Documented risk assessments, including assessments connected to new or substantially modified chatbot systems.

The Governor’s office describes the law as the first in the country to require independent child-safety audits and annual risk assessments for covered companion chatbot operators. These provisions are intended to move safety review beyond voluntary company policies and into a formal accountability process.

That distinction matters. A company may state that its chatbot is safe, but an independent audit can examine whether its policies, testing, escalation procedures, and safeguards work in practice.

Civil Penalties Change The Business Calculation

Assembly Bill 2 creates financial consequences when social media companies fail to protect children from harm. Knowing violations may result in civil penalties of up to $50,000 per affected minor.

This is significant because it connects child safety to corporate accountability. Safety failures are no longer treated only as reputational concerns or isolated customer-service problems. They can create direct financial exposure for a company.

The law is part of a broader shift in technology policy. In August, Meta agreed to an up to $17.1 billion settlement involving teen safety and social media addiction claims. That agreement included proposed changes involving time limits, notification controls, autoplay, algorithmic feeds, and parental supervision.

Together, the settlement and California’s new laws suggest that technology companies may increasingly be expected to demonstrate that child-safety systems are operating effectively, not merely that policies exist on paper.

Other Protections In The Package

The 13-bill package also addresses several connected risks:

• SB 867: A four-year moratorium, through January 1, 2031, on manufacturing and selling toys with companion chatbots for children under 16. SCN previously explained the implications in California’s AI chatbot toy ban guide.
• SB 1276 and AB 1946: Expanded child sexual exploitation definitions to include AI-generated or digitally altered material depicting a minor in sexual conduct.
• AB 1159: Regulates how K–12 pupil data may be used in AI systems.
• AB 1856: Establishes age-verification signals for software applications.
• AB 2246: Restricts children’s access to harmful online services and features.
• AB 2071: Expands digital wellness instruction in schools.
• Additional measures address school technology, pupil communications, computer science instruction, and reporting mechanisms for child sexual abuse material.

Parents dealing with AI-generated sexual images can also review SCN’s guidance on AI fake nudes reaching teen classrooms, including steps for preserving evidence, reporting content, and supporting a child without spreading the image further.

Which Protections Could Make The Biggest Difference?

Experts generally point to four measures as especially important.

First, disabling addictive features may reduce the amount of time children spend in algorithmically optimized environments. It does not remove every online risk, but it changes the design incentives that keep users scrolling.

Second, crisis protocols for chatbots could improve responses when a child discusses self-harm or suicide. These systems must be fast, appropriately cautious, and connected to real-world support rather than presented as substitutes for parents, counselors, or emergency services.

Third, independent audits and risk assessments can create transparency around whether companies identify and correct foreseeable harms before releasing major updates.

Fourth, civil liability may encourage companies to prioritize child safety earlier in the design process instead of waiting for a tragedy, lawsuit, or regulatory investigation.

Still, these safeguards will not work automatically. Ed Howard of the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law told CalMatters that enforcement resources and court challenges will determine the laws’ practical impact.

“The trend is in the right direction,” Howard said, “I don’t know that social media is any safer yet for every kid.”

Could California’s Approach Become A National Model?

California has a strong possibility of becoming a regulatory model because many major technology companies operate there, and national platforms often prefer one design standard rather than separate systems for every state.

The approach may also influence lawmakers elsewhere. The Reuters report noted that California joins a growing group of states addressing addictive social media design, although the laws vary considerably.

Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, called the moment “Big Tech’s Big Tobacco moment,” saying, “The blowback is not building anymore. It’s here.”

A recent Common Sense Media survey found that nearly one-third of teens who use AI companions considered those conversations as satisfying as, or more satisfying than, conversations with friends. That finding helps explain why companion chatbot regulation is moving quickly: the concern is not only about inappropriate answers, but also about emotional reliance and the displacement of human support.

What Parents Can Do Now

The laws will take time to implement, but families do not need to wait.

• Review parental controls on social media, gaming, and AI applications.
• Disable autoplay and personalized recommendations where those options are available.
• Ask whether your child is using an AI companion for friendship, emotional support, or crisis advice.
• Explain that an AI chatbot can sound caring while still producing inaccurate or unsafe responses.
• Create a clear family rule that immediate safety concerns go to a trusted adult or professional, not only to a chatbot.
• Ask schools what AI tools use student data and how that information is retained. SCN’s AI in schools parent guide offers a practical list of questions.
• Use parental controls transparently rather than relying on secret monitoring. SCN’s guidance on AI parental controls emphasizes that technology tools should support, not replace, an ongoing relationship with a child.

If a child expresses an immediate intention to self-harm, contact emergency services or call or text 988 in the United States and Canada. Do not rely on a chatbot to recognize the situation or contact help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does California’s Law Ban Social Media For Everyone Under 16?

No. AB 1709 primarily restricts addictive features for users under 16. Platforms may continue serving minors if they can provide an experience without the covered features.

Will These Laws Affect Families Outside California?

Possibly. National platforms may adopt similar safety settings across the United States rather than maintain separate systems for California users. Other states may also use California’s laws as a starting point for their own legislation.

Can Parents Still Allow Their Teen To Use AI Chatbots?

The law does not eliminate every form of AI use. It creates stronger requirements for covered companion chatbots, including parental controls, crisis safeguards, risk assessments, and limits on targeted advertising.

Are These Laws Guaranteed To Make Children Safer?

No. The laws establish important safeguards and accountability mechanisms, but their impact will depend on enforcement, court decisions, technical implementation, and whether companies adapt faster than regulators can respond.

California’s legislation represents a meaningful change in the child online safety conversation. It recognizes that parents should remain involved, while also acknowledging that families cannot reasonably compete with engineering teams, recommendation systems, and rapidly evolving AI products alone.

As Newsom said, “Parents can’t compete. Can’t compete with the engineering, can’t compete with the algorithms.”

The next step is shared responsibility: stronger technology design, informed enforcement, practical parent education, and digital environments that support children’s well-being rather than exploit their attention.

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