California Enacts Comprehensive Tech Regulations for Minors

On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom enacted a legislative package comprising 13 bills designed to enhance protections for minors against technology-related risks and improve online privacy safeguards. Among the measures is a law that expands criminal sanctions related to child sexual abuse material to include digitally altered or AI-generated content involving individuals under 18.

Another significant regulation prohibits the manufacture and sale of toys with companion chatbots for four years and mandates parental controls on chatbot programs. One specific measure is named in memory of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died in April 2025, reportedly after experiencing suicidal thoughts exacerbated by interactions with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Newsom described these regulations as the most comprehensive of their kind in the U.S. California joins several other states, including Utah and Arkansas, in implementing laws to regulate children's access to social media, with the new laws receiving bipartisan support despite some criticism regarding potential overreach.