Data Centers, AI, Social Media Safety — Here’s How Assembly Democrats are Taking Action on New Laws and Leading the Nation

This legislative session, California Assembly lawmakers strengthened protections for Californians in the age of artificial intelligence and addictive social media - including first-ever safeguards for children using social and AI chatbots, stronger online privacy and age-safety protections, and new accountability measures for the rapidly expanding AI industry and data centers.

SACRAMENTO - This year, Assembly Democrats are delivering new, first-in-the-nation protections to confront data centers, addictive social media platforms and artificial intelligence - putting the safety and health of Californians first.

Just this month, landmark Assembly cyber-safety bills were signed into law. These solutions - AB 1709 by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of Long Beach and AB 1856 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks of Oakland - shield kids from addictive social media features and boost online privacy and age-safety protections, and also establish new AI and chatbot safeguards. The Governor also signed AB 1405 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan of Orinda, which creates a first-of-its-kind registry of AI auditors.

Assembly Democrats have also advanced new protections to address the growing data center industry, ensuring Big Tech does not leave California families to foot the bill for the energy and infrastructure demands of AI.

These historic efforts also have been led by Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur, Mia Bonta, Isaac Bryan, Diane Papan and Dawn Addis.

"California is never afraid to lead - and this Assembly is stepping up again as technology reshapes our daily lives. While Trump lets massive corporations dictate the rules, California is delivering for families, workers and our kids. We're building guardrails and strengthening accountability so innovation moves forward safely, responsibly and for everyone."

- Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas

As Trump and Republicans in Washington dismiss growing concerns about unregulated AI and data centers - blatantly ignoring warnings about the dangers and backing Big Tech's infrastructure - California is taking a smarter approach: embracing innovation and demanding safety and accountability.

Protecting Your Kids Online

California is making the internet safer for children and teens by holding social media companies accountable and banning addictive design features for users under 16.

New laws also strengthen age-safety and privacy protections and expand accountability for the spread of child sexual abuse material, including digitally altered and AI-generated depictions of minors.

Real results delivered by Assembly Democrats that are already signed into law this year:

AB 1709 (Lowenthal) - Prohibits covered social media platforms from providing addictive features, including certain algorithmic feeds and autoplay, to users under 16.

AB 2 (Lowenthal) - Holds large social media platforms accountable when their products cause injury to children.

AB 302 (Bauer-Kahan) - Ensures students aren't penalized for opting out of addictive social media feeds and requires schools to provide alternative ways to communicate with students and parents.

AB 1856 (Wicks) - Strengthens age-safety protections and age-verification signals.

AB 1946 (Wicks) - Strengthens reporting requirements for child sexual abuse material.

AB 1159 (Addis) - Strengthens current student data privacy laws by extending protections to higher education, and prohibiting student information from being used to develop AI systems.

New Safeguards Around AI

California is delivering the country's strongest protections for rapidly evolving AI - including first-in-the-nation requirements for child-safety audits and protections around chatbots.

AB 1405 (Bauer-Kahan) - Creates a first-of-its-kind state registry for AI auditors and establishes standards for their independence, transparency and integrity when evaluating AI systems for compliance with California law.

AB 1883 (Bryan) - Protects workers from invasive AI-powered workplace surveillance by limiting employers' use of tools that track, profile or make sensitive inferences about employees.

AB 1979 (Bonta) - Ensure privacy is protected in health care settings and the professional judgment of licensed clinicians cannot be replaced by AI tools.

AB 2575 (Ortega) - Creates safeguards when AI is used in health care, ensuring patients are informed and clinicians can override AI-driven decisions.

Holding Big Tech Accountable

As AI drives a massive expansion of data centers, California is also taking action to make sure the costs of that growth do not land on families and communities.

AB 2383 (Zbur) - Protects Californians from being stuck with higher electricity costs driven by large energy users like data centers.

AB 2619 (Papan) - Requires data centers to disclose water use and helps local communities plan for the strain large facilities can place on water supplies.

AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) - Requires data centers to report energy usage and efficiency, and submit that information when requesting authorization to construct new centers.

AB 2469 (Papan) - Ensures data centers assume costs of any local water infrastructure upgrades made necessary by their project