The measures prohibit platforms from providing users under 16 with addictive feeds and autoplay.
On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 13 bills to strengthen protections for children against online risks, particularly those involving social media and artificial intelligence (AI) companion chatbots.
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The measures prohibit covered platforms from providing users under 16 with addictive features, including addictive feeds and autoplay, according to the governor’s office. They also remove the parental-consent option for such users and require platforms to verify users’ ages before providing the features.
Newsom also signed Senate Bill 1119, known as “Adam’s Law,” which establishes new safeguards for children under 18 who use companion chatbots.
The law is named after Adam Raine, a 16-year-old California teenager who died by suicide in 2025 after interacting with ChatGPT, according to State Senator Steve Padilla, one of the bill’s authors.
More passionate remarks below from a variety of bipartisan leaders at today’s press conference in Marin County, where California Gov. @GavinNewsom @CAgovernor signed 13 bills he says will help keep children safer online. Newsom praised the legislation while calling on federal… https://t.co/p3jHPB48In pic.twitter.com/5dOklCHmnP
— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) September 11, 2026
“I want to thank Adam’s mother, Maria, for her tireless work getting us to this moment. You are a manifestation of what moms represent. California will not stand by while unregulated technology puts our children at risk. Innovation comes with responsibility, and protecting our children comes first,” Newson said at a public ceremony.
The law requires child-safety risk assessments, crisis protocols addressing suicidal ideation and self-harm, parental controls, notices informing children that they are interacting with AI, and measures to prevent chatbots from encouraging children to rely on them for emotional support.
The law also requires independent child-safety audits. By default, chatbots must limit children’s continuous use to one hour and daily use to two hours, while parents can adjust the settings or disable access for children under 16.
Under another measure, a social media platform that generates more than US$100 million in annual gross revenue can be held liable for statutory damages if it fails to exercise ordinary care and causes injury to a child. The damages are the greater of US$5,000 per violation, capped at US$1 million per child, or three times the child’s actual damages.
The other signed bills address areas including children’s privacy, age assurance, school-issued electronic devices, student data, digital wellness and digitally altered or AI-generated material depicting child sexual exploitation.
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Source: Xinhua
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