California SB 243

Enacted 2025-10-13 (Ch. 677)

What it requires

The first US state statute written specifically for companion chatbots. It mandates AI-status disclosure, self-harm protocols with crisis referral, minor-specific safeguards (including break reminders), and — the detail that changes the economics of non-compliance — a private right of action.

Teeth

Private right of action, $1,000 per violation.

Red lines it maps to

• RL1 — Anthropomorphic Intimacy Escalation
• RL2 — Crisis Non-Referral
• RL6 — Failure to Disclose AI Identity
• RL7 — No Break Reminders / Addictive Design for Minors

Primary source →