{"slug": "california-governor-signs-laws-aimed-at-protecting-kids-from-risks-of-social-ai", "title": "California governor signs laws aimed at protecting kids from risks of social media, AI chatbots", "summary": "California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of laws Thursday penalizing large social media companies up to $1 million per child for negligent harm, banning addictive feeds for users under 16, and requiring AI chatbot operators to perform risk assessments before launch. The signing came weeks after Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a 2023 lawsuit by California and 28 other states alleging it deliberately designed features to addict children; Meta spokesperson Jim Cullinan said the addictive-feed restriction hinders its ability to deliver tailored content to teens. Newsom also signed laws Wednesday, supported by Anthropic, requiring the state to set rules for independent AI safety evaluators and create a registry of financially independent AI auditors.", "body_md": "# California governor signs laws aimed at protecting kids from risks of social media, AI chatbots\n\n## California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed laws aimed at protecting children from the potential harms of social media and AI chatbots\n\n- Bookmark\n\n [California](/topic/california) Gov. [Gavin Newsom](/topic/gavin-newsom) signed a sweeping package of laws Thursday aimed at protecting children from the risks of technology, including social media and AI chatbots.\n\nThe laws will penalize large social media companies up to $1 million per child if they are found negligent of harming children through their platforms, ban tech businesses from offering addictive feeds to anyone under 16 and require operators of AI chatbots to perform risk assessments before rolling them out.\n\nNewsom joined his wife and state lawmakers at a children's museum near [San Francisco](/topic/san-francisco) to stress the importance of protecting kids at a time when they have such easy access to social media and AI chatbots.\n\n“We have designed cribs to be safe, chairs to be safe, car seats,” Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan said. “Yet we've allowed technology to be handed to our children and never asked or expected it to be safe.”\n\nThe bill signings come weeks after [Meta](/topic/meta) reached a settlement with California and 28 other states after they alleged in a 2023 lawsuit that the tech giant deliberately designed features to addict children. The company agreed to pay up to $18 billion and strengthen its child safety measures.\n\nNewsom said the new laws highlight the state's leadership on the issue.\n\n“It’s a good day for our children,” he said. “It’s a good day for the state of California.”\n\nBut Meta raised concerns about some of the bills, saying the law to restrict addictive feeds hinders the company's ability to bring enjoyable content to users on its platforms.\n\n“We believe that delivering a tailored experience is an important part of what makes [Facebook](/topic/facebook) and Instagram valuable for teens as they connect with family and friends and explore their interests — safely,” spokesperson Jim Cullinan said in a statement. “Personalization is also how we deliver age-appropriate content for teens that is relevant to them — all with the proper guardrails in place.”\n\nThe governor has walked a fine line on technology policy during his nearly eight years serving as governor in the nation's most populous state, whose status as a global tech hub he has repeatedly touted in speeches.\n\nHe signed a law last year requiring platforms to remind users they are interacting with a chatbot and not a human. Hours later, he vetoed a bill that would have banned companies from making AI chatbots available to anyone under 18 years old unless the businesses could ensure the technology couldn’t engage in sexual conversations or encourage self-harm.\n\nNewsom also signed a law in 2024 to restrict student use of smartphones in schools.\n\nAssemblymember Josh Lowenthal, a Democrat who helped write the law to impose penalties on companies for harming children, said it was a critical time to pass the new laws.\n\n“The pace of technology is moving faster than government can put guardrails in,” he said.\n\nNewsom also signed laws Wednesday that are aimed at improving oversight of AI companies. The bills, which are supported by Anthropic, require the state to create rules for independent organizations to evaluate the safety risks of AI models, create a registry of AI auditors, who'd have to be financially independent from the businesses they are auditing.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/california-governor-signs-laws-aimed-at-protecting-kids-from-risks-of-social-ai", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/news/california-gavin-newsom-meta-sacramento-san-francisco-b3048260.html", "published_at": "2026-09-10 20:42:29+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-10 21:13:45.168596+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-safety", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Gavin Newsom", "California", "Meta", "Facebook", "Instagram", "Anthropic", "Rebecca Bauer-Kahan", "Josh Lowenthal"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/california-governor-signs-laws-aimed-at-protecting-kids-from-risks-of-social-ai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/california-governor-signs-laws-aimed-at-protecting-kids-from-risks-of-social-ai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/california-governor-signs-laws-aimed-at-protecting-kids-from-risks-of-social-ai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/california-governor-signs-laws-aimed-at-protecting-kids-from-risks-of-social-ai.jsonld"}}