Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Thursday more than a dozen bills strengthening online protections for kids. One of the more controversial measures requires social media companies to make their platforms less addictive and another reins in artificial intelligence chatbots, writes CalMatters’ Colin Lecher.
Assembly Bill 1709 requires companies to either omit addictive features on their apps — such as infinite scroll and autoplay videos — for users under the age of 16, or to keep those users off their platforms entirely.
- Newsom: “This is about the features themselves … the scrolling, the algorithms. This is about addressing the substantive issue around the engineering.”
Digital rights organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation urged Newsom to veto the bill, arguing that it was “well-intentioned” but would keep young users from “essential information and experiences.”
The other measure, known as Adam’s Law, imposes time limits for minors interacting with AI chatbots and requires built-in mental health resources. It also mandates safety plans for chatbots: If a chatbot detects a threat of self-harm, for example, the chatbot operator is required to alert parents. The law is named after California teen Adam Raine, who died by suicide in 2025 after receiving tips from the popular chatbot, ChatGPT.
Newsom also approved legislation to hold social media companies legally liable for harms their platforms may inflict on a child; expand and revise age-checking requirements on apps; and place a four-year moratorium on AI-powered chatbot toys for kids.
More on Adam’s Law: The law and others build on recent efforts by the state to curb the impact of technology on kids’ developing brains. But whether they will lead to meaningful change remains unclear. Preventing tragedies such as Raine’s suicide will depend, in part, on how many resources lawyers and regulators pour into enforcing them, said one expert. Read more from CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener.
Join CalMatters and the UCR School of Public Policy on Sept. 24 in Riverside for a conversation about our investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department seizure of mail ballots and what it means for future elections. Register today.
Other Stories You Should Know
Will CA screen kids on math?
Still awaiting Newsom’s decision is a bill that would test all young students on basic math skills, reports CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.
Since the pandemic, California’s math scores have languished and are significantly below the national average. Last year, only 37% of California students met grade-level math standards.
The bill intends to boost math scores by screening kindergartners, as well as first- and second-graders, on their math skills. The tests are expected to be straight-forward, asking kindergartners, for example, what order numbers go in and which numbers are bigger or smaller. Students who need help would get tutoring.
The California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union, opposes the proposal, arguing that it adds more stress on kids and does little to improve their math performance. It suggests that the state should instead invest in training teachers to improve math instruction.
Gender divide on immigration policies
From CalMatters politics reporter Maya C. Miller:
Latino voters are sharply divided along gender lines on protecting immigrants, fighting the Trump administration and the importance of defending democracy, a new study has found.
The UCLA Latino Politics and Policy Center and the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies asked about 1,900 registered Latino voters to rate the importance of those three progressive priorities in the race for California governor. More Latinas consistently listed those issues as “very important” than did Latinos.
The gender split is widest for non-college-educated voters — more specifically those who are younger and predominantly English speaking. On the issue of “protecting immigrant communities,” 17% more Latinas than Latinos said the issue was “very important.” When looking at working-class voters, the gender gap widens to 22%, and among younger voters (under 30), the gap is even wider at 28%.
- Cristina Mora, co-director of Berkeley IGS and one of the study’s authors: “They’re thoroughly American, and they are trying to understand immigration and the question of whether (they) should have this link or commonality and natural empathy for the immigrant.”
And lastly: CA parole board shakeup
The leader of the state Senate, Monique Limón, effectively removed two commissioners from the state’s Board of Parole Hearings this June after their votes on two Sacramento-area sex offenders caused a public backlash. The commissioners had already served years on the board when they separately approved for release two men who were each serving life sentences for sexual crimes committed against children in the 1990s. Read more from CalMatters’ Kate Wolffe.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: How California’s water will be managed in the coming decades will depend on four intertwined battles involving the Colorado River, the Sites reservoir project, the Delta tunnel project and diversions of the San Joaquin River.
If Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s merger goes through, California should insist that representatives for labor unions and the public interest hold board seats with real voting power, writes David Apgar, a climate-tech fund manager and economist.
Other things worth your time:
Becerra backers with business in Sacramento spend tens of millions boosting his gubernatorial bid // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
CA’s health care reckoning could soon become Becerra’s problem // Politico (free)
Trump administration says CA can’t ban disposable camping propane canisters // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
Leaked emails reveal industry plan to kill CA’s plastic and recycling laws // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
People working for AI companies have more money than they ever imagined — and no clue how to spend it // The Wall Street Journal (gift link)
Trump administration accuses UC Berkeley law school of racial discrimination // EdSource (free)
Migrant kids held in San Diego short-term immigration detention for weeks // inewsource (free)
Judge orders return of deported Oceanside resident and father of former US Marine // The San Diego Union-Tribune (gift link)
