CaliforniaToys: companion chatbots.
What it does
Existing law regulates the sale, manufacture, and exchange of toys in the state and prohibits the manufacture, sale, or exchange, possession with intent to sell or exchange, and exposition or offer for sale or exchange to a retailer a toy that is contaminated with a toxic substance, as provided. Violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor.
More detail
Existing law requires an operator of a companion chatbot platform, as defined, to issue a clear and conspicuous notification indicating that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human if a reasonable person interacting with a companion chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human. For these purposes, existing law defines a "companion chatbot" to mean an artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs and is capable of meeting a user's social needs, including by exhibiting anthropomorphic features and being able to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions. Existing law also requires an operator to take certain actions with respect to a user the operator knows is a minor, including to disclose to the user that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence. Violation of these provisions is subject to civil liability.
This bill would, until January 1, 2031, prohibit the manufacture, sale, exchange, possession with intent to sell or exchange, and exposition or offer for sale or exchange to a retailer a toy, as defined, that includes a companion chatbot, and would make violations of the bill subject to the same civil liability as violations of the provisions applicable to operators of companion chatbots in the above-described paragraph.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Sep 10Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 189, Statutes of 2026.Latest
- Sep 10Approved by the Governor Gavin Newsom.Became Law
- Sep 9Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.To Governor
- Aug 31Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.Major
- Vote recorded SB 867 Padilla Senate Third Reading By Lowenthal. Result: pass.Lower
- Vote recorded Unfinished Business SB867 Padilla et al. Concurrence. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 31In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
- Aug 31Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 74. Noes 1. Page 6981.) Ordered to the Senate.Passed Assembly
- Aug 27Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 27Read third time and amended.Major
- Aug 27Joint Rule 61(b)(16) suspended. (Ayes 58. Noes 1. Page 6727.)
- Aug 17Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 13Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 13From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 13).Major
- Aug 13Assembly Rule 63 suspended.
- Jul 1July 1 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
- Jun 17From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 14. Noes 1.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Jun 17Coauthors revised.
- Jun 16
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Lower
- Jun 4Referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and APPR.Minor
- May 28In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.Minor
- Vote recorded Special Consent SB867 Padilla et al. Result: pass.Upper
- May 28Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 4525.) Ordered to the Assembly.Passed Senate
- May 26Ordered to special consent calendar.
- May 18Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- May 14Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended. Result: pass.Upper
- May 14From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4254.) (May 14).Major
- May 8Set for hearing May 14.
- Apr 20April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
- Vote recorded Placed on suspense file. Result: pass.Upper
- Apr 10Set for hearing April 20.
- Apr 7From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 3741.) (April 6). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Apr 6
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 16Set for hearing April 6.
- Feb 23From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on P., D.T., & C.P.Major
- Feb 18Referred to Coms. on P., D.T., & C.P. and APPR.Minor
- Jan 6From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 5.
- Jan 5Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.Introduced