--- format: "aidr-story-markdown/v1" id: "0ff5fc892c9ac6d79e00b53f561488cfb751678c7de7736177b87b61e910d72d" canonical_url: "https://aidr.today/0ff5fc89?lang=en" title: "California Bans AI Companion Toys and Addictive Social Media for Under 16s in First State Law" lang: "en" requested_lang: "en" available_langs: ["en","vi"] translation_fallback: null fallback_fields: [] published_at: "2026-09-11T11:55:18.000Z" category: "Regulation" topics: ["regulation","safety","llm"] source_urls: ["https://huggingnews.com/us-politics/california-bans-ai-companion-toys-and-addictive-social-media-for-under-1-1e6db95c","https://x.com/NBCNews/status/2098335791311126531","https://x.com/Kalshi/status/2098345806193721345","https://x.com/politico/status/2098180063913263598","https://x.com/PollTracker2024/status/2098132331374461201"] summary: "Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation targeting tech companies to protect children from manipulative social media design and AI-integrated hardware. The rules prohibit social media platforms from offering behaviorally addictive features to users under 16 and ban the sale of toys containing AI companion chatbots. These restrictions apply to all relevant tech entities and manufacturers operating within California. The social media prohibition marks the first legislation of its kind in the United States to target addictive design. Certain provisions of the online child safety bills received support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The laws focus on removing behaviorally addictive components and restricting AI-integrated products to limit daily dependency in minors." --- # California Bans AI Companion Toys and Addictive Social Media for Under 16s in First State Law > [Open the canonical story]() **Published:** 2026-09-11T11:55:18.000Z **Category:** Regulation **Topics:** regulation, safety, llm ## Summary Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation targeting tech companies to protect children from manipulative social media design and AI\-integrated hardware\. The rules prohibit social media platforms from offering behaviorally addictive features to users under 16 and ban the sale of toys containing AI companion chatbots\. These restrictions apply to all relevant tech entities and manufacturers operating within California\. The social media prohibition marks the first legislation of its kind in the United States to target addictive design\. Certain provisions of the online child safety bills received support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman\. The laws focus on removing behaviorally addictive components and restricting AI\-integrated products to limit daily dependency in minors\. ## Sources - [Story source]() - [Story source]() - [Supporting source]() - [Story source]() - [Supporting source]()