Hothi praises bills intended to protect kids from AI, social media | News | #childpredator | #kidsaftey | #childsaftey

Authored by Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, Assembly Bill 2 would make social media platforms liable for specified damages if it fails to exercise ordinary care or skill by causing injury to a child until Jan. 1, 2035.

Lowenthal also authored A.B. 1709 which would prohibit a social media platform from providing an addictive feature to a user younger than 16, and require it to implement reasonable measures to ensure those users are not offered or provided any addictive feature.

This bill would also impose a civil penalty against a non-compliant platform and would require its provisions be enforced by a civil action brought only by the attorney general or prosecutor.

In addition, it would establish the e-Safety Advisory Commission within the Department of Justice as an independent advisory body that would advise state government on certain matters related to online safety.

Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland and State Sen. Steve Padilla, D-Chula Vista, authored Senate Bill 1119 — also known as Adam’s Law.

The bill requires companies to verify the ages of people using their programs; offer suicide prevention help and notify parents if a child talks about hurting themselves; and test their programs for safety risks before releasing them and send safety reports to the state Attorney General.

The bills also requires that default settings for minors limit memory, stop notifications, and give parents control over time limits.

In addition, AI companies can face lawsuits if their programs output harmful content like self-harm advice, explicit material or emotional manipulation.

Adam’s Law builds on last Padilla’s SB 243, which was approved last year and required chatbot operators to disclose that users are interacting with AI, as well as maintain protocols for detecting self-harm content.

The law is named after California teen Adam Raine, who lost his life in 2025 after coaching by ChatGPT.

Hothi has long been advocating for stronger protections for youth at the Capitol, last year championing the Leading Ethical AI Development Act — or LEAD — which would ban the use of most AI companion chatbots, and AB 56, which would put warning labels on some social media platforms.

He said California has long set the standard for technology policy, and he believes these new laws will become a model for the rest of the world.

“As someone who grew up in Lodi and now has the opportunity to help lead this work statewide, it’s especially meaningful to see California establish what I believe will become a global standard for protecting children in the digital age,” Hothi said. “Innovation and accountability can go hand in hand, and these laws demonstrate that we can lead the world in technology while putting the safety and well being of our children first.”