Pleasanton, California — Governor Gavin Newsom signed a comprehensive package of bipartisan bills Thursday aimed at shielding children from online harms, establishing statutory guardrails for companion chatbots and prohibiting social media companies from deploying habit-forming interface mechanisms aimed at youth.
Pleasanton is an Alameda County city of about 77,000 residents in the Tri-Valley area, roughly 25 miles east of Oakland.
A central pillar of the newly enacted measures is companion chatbot legislation known as Adam's Law, named in honor of Adam Raine. The statutory framework introduces strict safety rules for artificial intelligence companion tools used by children, requiring crisis response procedures for suicidal ideation, parental alerts when safeguards are disabled, and mandatory independent annual safety evaluations.
The legislative package also restricts digital platforms from providing users under 16 with algorithmic feeds and automated playback based on personal profiles and browsing history. In addition, the enactments broaden state child exploitation laws to encompass computer-synthesized imagery portraying minors in sexual abuse or explicit conduct, while establishing privacy safeguards restricting the use of K-12 student data within artificial intelligence systems and banning targeted marketing.
