Key Takeaways
- A new California bill, SB 243, mandates safety protocols for AI companion chatbots.
- Another bill, AB 56, was also passed in the state, requiring AI and social media companies show minors warning labels.
- Also passed: AB 1043, which requires device makers and app stores to verify users’ ages.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 243, a new bill that mandates specific safety protocols for AI companion chatbots.
The billed, which is aimed at protecting minors, is the first US state law to regulate this type of chatbot, making it a landmark in AI regulation.
Newsom also signed a few other AI-related bills regarding warning labels and app store age verifications.
What the AI Bill Regulates
The SB 243 bill impacts AI companies large and small, from OpenAI to smaller brands like Character AI and Replika: They’re all legally on the hook to meet the new standards. So what are those standards?
One big one is an age verification requirement. Another is a requirement that these chatbots offer “clear and conspicuous” notifications that their content is artificially generated, ensuring that no one can reasonably assume that they’re a human — for children, notifications must be issued every three hours.
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They’ll also need to create protocols “preventing their models from producing content about suicidal ideation, suicide or self-harm and directing users to crisis services if needed,” notes The Hill.
The bill goes into effect January 1st, 2026.
How We Got Here
SB 243 was first introduced in January 2025 by California state senators Steve Padilla and Josh Becker.
Then Adam Raine, a 16-year-old boy, died by suicide in April 2025 following many suicidal conversations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. In addition, news broke of internal documents at Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, that reportedly depicted Meta’s chatbot engaging in chats with children that were “romantic” and “sensual.”
In the wake of these stories, the bill gained more public attention as a measure to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. It’s not the only one that Newsom signed into law this session, though.
Additional Warning Labels and App Store Verification
Another just-signed California bill is AB 56, from Democratic state Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and it requires AI and social media companies show minors warning labels for “profound” mental health risks. Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are among the platforms impacted by this new regulation.
Finally, there’s Democratic state Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’s AB 1043, which requires device makers and app stores to verify users’ ages.
Notably, this final bill does not require photo ID uploads from all users — a feature similar bills in other states have put forth despite qualms from privacy advocates.
It’s a big step for AI regulation, and a sign that the generative AI industry is reaching greater attention from lawmakers following several years of rapid growth.
