Content warning: this story includes discussion of self-harm and suicide. If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a state bill on Monday that would’ve prevented AI companies from allowing minors to access chatbots, unless the companies could prove that their products’ guardrails could reliably prevent kids from engaging with inappropriate or dangerous content, including adult roleplay and conversations about self-harm.
The bill would have placed a new regulatory burden on companies, which currently adhere to effectively zero AI-specific federal safety standards. As it stands, there are no federal AI laws that compel AI companies to public