California enacts laws restricting chatbots and banning teens from ‘addictive’ social media
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
Governor Gavin Newsom signed 13 bills aimed at protecting California minors online, including two high‑profile measures that restrict “addictive” social‑media features and limit teen interactions with AI chatbots. The social‑media law obliges platforms to disable infinite scroll, autoplay and similar tools for users under 16 or to bar those users entirely, a move championed as a response to a rising teenage mental‑health crisis. Critics, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, argue the definition of “addictive features” is overly broad and could effectively ban all social media for under‑16s. The chatbot law, named after teen Adam Raine, imposes time caps, mandatory mental‑health resources, and parental alerts when self‑harm is detected, holding companies like OpenAI liable for non‑compliance. Additional statutes create liability for child‑harm, tighten age‑verification, expand duties on child‑abuse content, and restrict AI‑powered toys for minors.
💡 Why It Matters
- · By forcing platforms to redesign core engagement tools, the law tests whether user‑wellbeing can be legislated without dismantling the social‑media ecosystem that teens rely on for information and connection.
