Companion Chatbots: Children's Safety (SB 1119, 'Adam's Law')

Enacted, not yet in forceLawBinding

Requires companion-chatbot operators, from 1 Jul 2027, to perform and document a comprehensive child-safety risk assessment before releasing a new or substantially modified chatbot, and to provide child-account protections and parental controls. Operators must also obtain independent child-safety audits (first by 1 Jan 2029 or before first public release, then every two years); the Attorney General can request audit reports for cause.

Why it matters

Builds on SB 243: chatbot operators with child users face risk-assessment and parental-control duties from mid-2027 and audits from 2029, plus suits by public prosecutors and by harmed children or their parents.

What it requires

Impact assessmentSecurity testingConsumer rightsPenalties

Penalties

Enforcement by public prosecutors and a private right of action for harmed children or their parents

SourceCalifornia Legislative Information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1119 Secondary: https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb1119 Checked against the source on 4 Oct 2026. Chapter 190, Statutes of 2026, approved 10 Sep 2026. Deletes SB 243's minor-specific provisions. Operators with under $500m gross revenue are exempt from the audit section before 1 Jan 2032. Because AB 1405 was chaptered (Ch. 178/2026), the AB 1405-linked version of the audit section (Bus. & Prof. Code 21814) applies. Dates verified against the chaptered bill text.

Cite this record

Companion Chatbots: Children's Safety (SB 1119, 'Adam's Law'). California Legislature / Governor. Status: Enacted, not yet in force. wheresthe.ai, https://wheresthe.ai/rule/us-ca-sb1119-adams-law-companion-chatbots-children-2026/ (verified 4 Oct 2026).

Companion Chatbots: Children's Safety (SB 1119, 'Adam's Law')

Why it matters

What it requires

Penalties

Cite this record

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