California has introduced some of the strongest technology restrictions for children in the United States, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing a package of new laws targeting addictive social media features, AI companion chatbots and other emerging digital risks. The measures are designed to give minors greater protection online while placing additional responsibilities on technology companies operating in the state.
California Social Media Rules Target Addictive Features
The new package includes rules preventing social media platforms from providing users under 16 with certain features designed to maximize engagement, including algorithmically personalized feeds and autoplay. California is also strengthening safeguards around AI companion chatbots and expanding protections against digitally altered or AI generated material depicting children in sexual situations. State officials say the measures are intended to make child safety a central requirement of technology design rather than something addressed only after problems emerge.
One of the most significant changes concerns how social media platforms interact with younger users. Under the new rules, children under 16 cannot be exposed to features that California considers psychologically exploitative when those features are designed to encourage prolonged or compulsive use. Infinite scrolling, autoplay and recommendation systems based on a user’s activity are among the features targeted by the legislation.
The policy builds on California’s earlier efforts to address social media addiction among minors. In 2024, Newsom signed legislation restricting platforms from knowingly providing addictive feeds to minors without parental consent and introducing limits on certain notifications directed at young users. The latest measures go further by focusing specifically on design features that can keep children continuously engaged with a platform.
Artificial intelligence is another major part of the new legislation. California has expanded regulations surrounding AI companion chatbots, which can be designed to interact with users in increasingly personal and conversational ways. The new requirements include stronger parental controls, crisis response procedures and safety assessments, with companies also facing independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments under the state’s new framework.
The chatbot rules have attracted particular attention because of concerns about relationships children can develop with AI systems. California has named the legislation “Adam’s Law” in memory of Adam Raine, a teenager whose family said his interactions with ChatGPT contributed to his declining mental health before his death in 2025. The case has become part of a wider debate over how AI companies should respond when young users discuss serious emotional or mental health issues with conversational systems.
The new laws also address the rapidly developing problem of AI generated abuse material. California is expanding criminal protections for children to cover digitally altered or AI generated material depicting someone under 18 engaged in sexual conduct. The change reflects growing concern that advances in generative AI can make harmful material easier to create or manipulate, even when the underlying image did not originally depict an actual event.
Another measure focuses on physical products that incorporate AI. California is moving to restrict the manufacture and sale of toys containing companion chatbots, while related rules strengthen safety requirements for chatbot programs. The state says these measures are intended to prevent children from forming potentially harmful relationships with conversational AI products without appropriate safeguards or parental oversight.
AI Safety Rules Put Technology Companies Under Pressure
The legislation has received support from technology companies as well as lawmakers concerned about the risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems. OpenAI, for example, has recently called for mandatory national AI safety standards and has said it supports several California measures dealing with independent evaluations and protections for children. The company has argued that voluntary commitments are not enough as AI capabilities develop.
At the same time, critics argue that some of California’s technology regulations could create new problems involving privacy, free expression and access to the internet. Digital rights groups have questioned whether governments can effectively determine which features are harmful without giving platforms or regulators too much control over how people interact online. The debate reflects a broader challenge facing lawmakers: protecting children without creating rules that unnecessarily restrict legitimate online activity.
California’s approach is also part of a much larger international movement. Several U.S. states have adopted or proposed restrictions on children’s use of social media, although the specific rules vary considerably. Outside the United States, Australia has introduced particularly strong restrictions for younger users, while European governments are also debating age limits and additional protections. French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for an EU wide ban on social media access for children under 15, demonstrating how quickly the issue has moved onto the international policy agenda.
The technology industry is consequently facing increasing pressure to change how its products are designed for younger users. Social media companies have faced lawsuits and government investigations alleging that certain platform features encourage excessive use, while regulators in different countries are examining whether existing parental controls and age verification systems are actually effective. Recent legal action involving major platforms has added further pressure for companies to demonstrate that their child safety measures work in practice.
California’s new laws therefore represent more than a collection of individual restrictions. They reflect a broader shift in how governments view technology used by children, moving away from the idea that parents alone should manage digital risks and toward greater responsibility for the companies that design and operate these products. The state’s approach also shows how AI has quickly become part of the same policy discussion as social media, particularly as conversational systems become more common in everyday life.
Ultimately, California is positioning itself as one of the most aggressive regulators of technology aimed at or accessible to children. The new rules could influence how major technology companies design social media platforms, AI chatbots and digital products not only in California but potentially across the United States, because companies may find it easier to adopt broader safety standards than to maintain entirely different systems for individual markets.
Whether the measures successfully reduce harmful technology use while preserving privacy and free expression will depend heavily on how the rules are implemented. What is already clear, however, is that the debate over children’s relationship with social media and artificial intelligence is moving rapidly from technology companies and parents into the center of public policy.
