California governor signs laws aimed at protecting kids from risks of social media, AI chatbots
The package imposes up to $1 million in penalties per child, requires chatbot safety checks and creates new limits on addictive feeds for users under 16.
- On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1709 in Marin County, prohibiting social media platforms from offering addictive features to users under 16. The measure, dubbed 'Adam's Law,' targets infinite scrolling and algorithmic autoplay.
- Lawmakers named the bill after Adam Raine, a California teen who died by suicide in 2025 after conversing with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The legislation responds to growing concerns that tech companies prioritize engagement over child safety.
- The law bans features such as infinite scrolling and algorithmic autoplay, with the state attorney general authorized to define additional regulations. Platforms must also provide users under 16 the option to disable personalized, non-algorithmic feeds.
- Tech industry groups like TechNet and The Electronic Frontier Foundation opposed the measure, warning it could restrict online access and prompt intrusive age-verification systems. Industry advocates argue regulators should enforce existing laws instead.
- Newsom defended the approach, stating California's strategy is 'better' than Australia's because it targets specific product engineering rather than a broad ban. The state is also advancing measures involving artificial intelligence chatbots and youth digital privacy.
136 Articles
136 Articles
Governor of California Sanctions Package of Historical Measures to Protect Minors on Social Networks
California Governor Gavin Newsom today sanctioned a series of restrictions on the use of social media technologies and on interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots considered harmful. On-line protection measures are among the most stringent in the United States for young users.
Gavin Newsom described these new restrictions as "better" than a pioneering Australian ban in this field that affects all users in that age range. "This is different from what Australia did," Newsom argued. "It's really about addressing the problem, infinite displacement ("scrolling"), algorithms. It's about addressing the bottom line issue around engineering. If that's addressed, then age is not the core issue," he said. Australia's legislation…
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