California SB-300 (Companion chatbots).

Proposed 2025-02-10 | Official source

Summary

Amends regulations for companion chatbots, requiring operators to notify users of AI nature, prevent harmful content, publish safety protocols, and ensure disclosures and break reminders for minors while restricting sexually explicit material in interactions with minors.

This document has not been enacted or otherwise finalized and is subject to change. This summary is based on a copy of the document collected 2026-04-28 - refer to the official source for the most current version.

Key facts

🏛️ This document has been proposed by the State of California, but is not yet enacted. For authoritative text and metadata, visit the official source.

🎯 This document primarily applies to the private sector, rather than the government.

📜 This document's name is California SB-300 (Companion chatbots)..

Themes AI risks, applications, governance strategies, and other themes addressed in AGORA documents.

This document has not been enacted or otherwise finalized and is subject to change. This summary is based on a copy of the document collected 2026-04-28 - refer to the official source for the most current version.

Harms (1)

Detrimental content This tag applies to documents addressing detrimental content involving AI, such as deepfakes or AI-generated spam.

Governance strategies (4)

Full text

This is an unofficial copy. The document has been archived and reformatted in plaintext for AGORA. Footnotes, tables, and similar material may be omitted. For the official text, visit the original source.
This text may be out of date. According to the latest data in AGORA, this document has been proposed, but is not yet enacted or otherwise finalized. This text was collected 2026-04-28 and may have been revised in the meantime. Visit the official source for authoritative text.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 22602 of the Business and Professions Code, as added by Section 1 of Chapter 677 of the Statutes of 2025, is amended to read: 22602. (a) If a reasonable person interacting with a companion chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human, an operator shall issue a clear and conspicuous notification indicating that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human.

(b) (1) An operator shall prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm content to the user, including, but not limited to, by providing a notification to the user that refers the user to crisis service providers, including a suicide hotline or crisis text line, if the user expresses suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm. (2) The operator shall publish details on the protocol required by this subdivision on the operator’s internet website.

(c) When an operator has actual knowledge that a user is a minor, they shall do all of the following: (1) Disclose to the user that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence. (2) Provide by default a clear and conspicuous notification to the user at least every three hours for continuing companion chatbot interactions that reminds the user to take a break and that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human. (3) Prevent its companion chatbot from producing or facilitating the exchange of material of sexually explicit conduct or directly stating that the minor should engage in sexually explicit conduct.