California's new protections for children using AI companion chatbots are now reaching local news coverage aimed at parents. On 27 October, Bakersfield station KBAK covered the state's push alongside growing concern about teenagers relying on chatbots for advice and emotional support.
What we know
KBAK's segment featured Dr Candice Feinberg, a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder of TOWI Teen and Parent Wellness Centers in Southern California. She discussed the risk that teenagers become emotionally dependent on chatbots and turn to them in place of parents, friends or other trusted adults, while also acknowledging the technology's value for schoolwork and everyday questions. The station urged parents to watch how children use AI outside the classroom.
The legal background is SB 1119, known as Adam's Law. Governor Gavin Newsom signed it on 10 September as one of 13 child-safety bills, according to his office. It builds on SB 243, the 2025 companion chatbot law that took effect on 1 January 2026. Law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth notes that the new law applies to any operator offering a companion chatbot to users in California, wherever the company is based. Operators must carry out risk assessments covering physical, financial and psychological harms before launching or substantially changing a product. The governor's office says the package also requires crisis protocols for suicidal ideation, gives parents new protections and limits targeted advertising to children. Children harmed by violations will have a private right of action. Key provisions apply from 1 July 2027 to operators that allow child users, and the Attorney General must set up a public incident-reporting channel by 1 January 2028.
Why it matters
The private right of action is what changes the commercial picture. Until now, enforcement risk came mainly from regulators. From mid-2027 it will also come from plaintiffs' lawyers. Operators that do not want that exposure have a simple choice: make their age assurance strong enough to keep minors out, or build the full risk-assessment and crisis-response process the law requires. Because the law reaches operators outside California, the decision applies to most companion apps with US users, not only Californian firms.
What to watch
Guidance from the Attorney General's office on how the risk assessments should be done, and whether other states copy the private right of action.
Written by the AI Companion Wire newsroom from public reporting, credited above. Image via KBAK.
