A Victory for Children: Adam's Law Poised to Establish Most Comprehensive Child Protections in the Country

[Sacramento, CA] Today, California lawmakers passed Adam's Law (SB 1119), a landmark bill that, if signed into law, will be the most comprehensive digital protections for children interacting with chatbots in the United States. In an overwhelming show of bipartisan support, the bill now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk after passing the Legislature Monday night

The bill's three authors - Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and Senator Steve Padilla - are proud to deliver a comprehensive regulatory framework for child safety. This bill is necessary to keep our children safe as they navigate a world in which AI chatbots are increasingly used by kids and have been linked to self-harm and suicide.

Adam's Law stands as a bicameral collaboration between three leading champions of child safety, who worked side by side with families and children's advocates throughout the legislative process. It is the result of years of relentless advocacy from lawmakers, families, and safety experts.

The law is named after California teen Adam Raine, who lost his life in 2025, after coaching by ChatGPT. Adam was a beloved son, brother, and friend, and his law seeks to ensure that no child will lose their life as the result of a chatbot ever again.

• "We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Padilla, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, and Assemblymember Wicks, and the support of the entire California State Legislature in passing critically important Al companion chatbot safety legislation," said Matthew and Maria Raine, the parents of Adam Raine. "Powerful Al companionship chatbots were unleashed on our kids with vastly inadequate protections, and every day we hear of harms caused by the use of these powerful products. Adam's Law is a serious and much needed step forward for Al companion chatbot safety in the state of California."
  
• "Adam's Law sets a new national standard for what we owe our children online." Said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. "For too long, tech has put profit ahead of our children's safety. Adam's Law changes that, and I'm proud to have fought for it not just as a legislator, but as a parent. These protections are an incredible victory for kids and families."
  
• "While Washington is focused on catering to their tech oligarchs, California is filling the regulatory void to protect our children and prevent another repeat of the social media disaster," said Senator Padilla. "Adam's Law stands to become the national blueprint to build a safer online world for our kids."
  
• "Our children's safety is non-negotiable. Period. As a parent, I want to know the products my kids use are safe," said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. "We negotiated for months with stakeholders to get this right, and we held the line on the essential safeguards kids and families deserve. Adam's Law is a big win for California kids and families, and I believe it will become a model for the country."

Adam's Law builds on last year's SB 243, authored by Senator Padilla, which required chatbot operators to disclose that users are interacting with AI and to maintain protocols for detecting self-harm content. Adam's Law goes even further, with some of the toughest child safety protections in the country. Specifically, the bill requires:

• Mandatory age assurance using the privacy protective age-bracket signal required pursuant to AB 1043 (Wicks, 2025).
• Mandatory risk assessments before the release of a new or substantially modified companion chatbot.
• Timely in-app crisis support requiring platforms to provide referrals to mental health resources, as well as provisions requiring notice to a parent if there is a credible threat of imminent of self-harm, or the operator is aware the child engaged in self-harm.
• Default settings that can only be changed by a parent, including no notifications, time limits on usage, and limitations on persistent conversational memory.
• Liability for failure to take reasonable measures to prevent several categories of harmful outputs, including self-harm, sexually explicit material, romantic roleplaying, excessive praise or flattery, and emotionally manipulative outputs that tend to foster reliance and promote isolation from friends and family - building on the provisions of last year's AB 1064 (Bauer-Kahan).
• Requirement to implement an incident reporting mechanism, overseen by the Attorney General.
• Strict limitations on targeted advertising to children in conversational chats.
• Privacy protections that go well beyond the California Consumer Protection Act.
• Mandatory independent audits of operator compliance, with findings submitted to the California Attorney General.
• A private right of redress for families harmed by violations relating to crisis referral services, parental notice, default protections, and prohibitions on harmful outputs.

Adam's Law passed the Senate with bipartisan support by a vote of 39 to 0 and the Assembly with bipartisan support by a vote of 64 to 4. The bill now heads to Governor Newsom's desk for his signature.

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