Sacramento, CA – Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 56, requiring social media platforms to display mental health warning labels to users under 18. The Governor also signed AB 621 which strengthens enforcement options against nudify applications, thus protecting communities against the harms of nonconsensual deepfake pornography.
While advocates celebrate these critical steps forward, they express deep disappointment that comprehensive protections for California’s children remain incomplete without AB 1064, which would have regulated dangerous AI companion chatbots.
Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan said, “While we celebrate Governor Newsom’s signing of AB 56 and AB 621, we’re sorely disappointed that comprehensive protections for California’s children remain incomplete. As children move from social media to AI, we must ensure AI is safe for our kids and not a suicide coach that can kill them. It is incomprehensible that we do not hold Big Tech responsible for the devastating harms their platforms have caused. I look forward to continuing my work with Common Sense Media, public prosecutors, mental health advocates, and the grieving families impacted by these harms to finish this fight. Our action must be bold to meet the mental health crisis head-on.
Authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and co-sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta and Common Sense Media, AB 56 requires a 10-second warning when young users first log on, and mandatory 30-second
warnings after three hours of continuous use and hourly thereafter. The bill follows the proven model of tobacco warning labels and responds directly to the U.S. Surgeon General’s June 2024 call for this intervention. AB 56 is supported by the CA Medical Association and the CA chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
AB 621, also authored by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, is sponsored by the Office of San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and provides additional civil liability for the intentional creation and distribution of deepfake pornography by expressly applying it to deepfake pornography websites and those who knowingly facilitate the making or distribution of such images. Further, it expressly allows public prosecutors to take enforcement actions under the statute, and increases the amount of damages that violators may face. AB 621 is supported by the California District Attorney Association, Police Chiefs Association, and Civil Prosecutors.
However, the veto of AB 1064—the LEAD for Kids Act—leaves California’s children vulnerable to AI companion chatbots that simulate friendships or romantic relationships and have already been linked to depression, self-harm, and suicide among young people. The bill, which would have been the first in the nation to place guardrails on AI chatbots used by children, was sponsored by Common Sense Media and supported by over 20 organizations including Tech Oversight, Children’s Advocacy Institute, and the CA Department of Justice.
The veto of AB 1064 comes as teen depression and anxiety rates have spiked to crisis levels and AI chatbots have engaged in sexual conversations with children, promoted disordered eating and self-harm, and, in tragic cases, even encouraged suicide.
“People across the nation — including myself — have become increasingly concerned with Big Tech’s failure to protect children who interact with its products. Today, California makes clear that we will not sit and wait for companies to decide to prioritize children’s well-being over their profits,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “By adding warning labels to social media platforms, AB 56 gives California a new tool to protect our children. I thank Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan for introducing this legislation and look forward to continuing the vital work of ensuring social media platform use does not harm our kids.”
Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan said, “We’re sorely disappointed to see Governor Newsom side with Big Tech over the more than 150 families who have suffered the most unimaginable loss: the passing of their child encouraged by companion AI. These AI companies know the risks their products pose. They’ve made purposeful design decisions that put kids in harm’s way, creating chatbots that form dangerous emotional bonds with vulnerable young people. In far too many cases, these AI companions have encouraged suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders. The fact of the matter is that Big Tech knows what their products are doing to children, yet they continue to prioritize profits over safety. The other legislation signed by the governor, and supported by big tech, does not do enough to protect our kids. We won’t stop until we ensure this technology is safe for our children and that Big Tech is held responsible for the harms their products cause.”
“Common Sense Media thanks Governor Newsom for signing critical social media safety protections into law, and we loudly applaud Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and Attorney General Bonta for their steadfast and expert leadership in shepherding AB56 through the legislature,” said Common Sense Media Founder and CEO James P. Steyer. “At the same time, we are disappointed that the tech lobby has killed urgently needed kids’ AI safety legislation. California families stand to lose the most as a result, which is why we will not rest until we get this done. We will continue working with Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and other lawmakers, as well as the courageous parents and other advocates, on getting AB1064 signed into law in the year ahead.”
With AB 56’s and AB 621’s signing, California takes an important step in protecting children from social media and AI harms, but advocates make clear that the fight for comprehensive digital safety protections will continue.
Editors Note:
Bauer-Kahan’s legislation comes as Newsom announced a series signs bills to further strengthen California’s leadership in protecting children online
The bills will help protect children online by creating:
✅ New safeguards on AI chatbots by establishing requirements that “companion chatbot” platforms create protocols to identify and address users’ suicidal ideation or expressions of self-harm. Platforms must also disclose that interactions are artificially generated, and minors must be provided break reminders and prevented from viewing sexually explicit images generated by the chatbot. Platforms will be required to share protocols for dealing with self-harm and statistics regarding how often they provided users with crisis center prevention notifications to the Department of Public Health. Legislation also establishes a prohibition against chatbots representing themselves as health care professionals.
✅ Required age verifications by operating system and app store providers to help prevent children from accessing inappropriate or dangerous content online.
✅ Social media warning labels to help warn young users about the harms associated with extended use of social media platforms.
✅ Stronger penalties for deepfake pornography by expanding the cause of action to allow victims, including minors, to seek civil relief of up to $250,000 per action against third parties who knowingly facilitate or aid in the distribution of nonconsensual sexually explicit material.
✅ Guidance to prevent cyberbullying through requiring the California Department of Education (CDE), on or before June 1, 2026, to adopt a model policy on how to address reported acts of cyberbullying that occur outside of school hours, and requires local educational agencies to adopt the resulting policy or a similar policy developed with local input.
✅ Clear accountability for harm caused by AI technology by preventing those who develop, alter, or use artificial intelligence from escaping liability by asserting that the technology acted autonomously.
The full list of the signed bills to protect children and strengthen the safety of technology and online platforms include:
- AB 56 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda). Social media: warning labels.
- AB 316 by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento). Artificial intelligence: defenses.
- AB 489 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland). Health care professions: deceptive terms or letters: artificial intelligence.*
- AB 566 by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach). California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: opt-out preference signal.*
- AB 621 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda). Deepfake pornography.
- AB 656 by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita). Account cancellation.*
- AB 772 by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach). Cyberbullying: off-campus acts: model policy.*
- AB 853 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). California AI Transparency Act. A signing message can be found here.
- AB 979 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks). California Cybersecurity Integration Center: artificial intelligence.*
- AB 1043 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). Age verification signals: software applications and online services. A signing message can be found here.
- SB 50 by Senator Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento). Connected devices: device protection requests.
- SB 53 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). Artificial intelligence models: large developers.*
- SB 243 by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). Companion chatbots.
- SB 361 by Senator Josh Becker (D‑Menlo Park). Data brokers: data collection and deletion.*
- SB 446 by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield). Data breaches: customer notification.*
- SB 524 by Senator Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley). Law enforcement agencies: artificial intelligence.*
*previously signed
