If you’ve spent any time scrolling through TikTok or talking to your friends, you’ve probably heard about AI companion chatbots. Yeah, those apps where you can basically have conversations with an AI character. Well, turns out a lot of us have been using them , and lawmakers are getting concerned about what’s actually happening behind the scenes.

State Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan from San Ramon and Buffy Wicks from Oakland just introduced Assembly Bill 2023, while state Senator Steve Padilla from Chula Vista introduced a companion Senate Bill 1119. Both bills are designed to set some serious boundaries around AI chatbots that minors are using.

The numbers are pretty wild. According to Common Sense Media, 72% of teenagers have used an AI companion chatbot, and half of them are regular users. On average, people are spending 93 minutes a day on these things , and a lot of that usage is coming from kids and young adults.

So what’s actually in these bills? The legislation prohibits AI chatbots from displaying content that could harm minors. It also requires companies to beef up data protection measures to keep kids’ personal information secure and includes mandatory in-app crisis support features. Basically, it’s trying to ensure that these platforms have some actual safety measures in place instead of just letting anything fly.

There’s also a focus on accountability. The bills call for independent audits of these chatbots and annual risk assessments, which means companies can’t just shrug their shoulders and pretend they don’t know what’s happening on their platforms.

This new legislation builds on Senate Bill 243, which Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law last October. That bill already set some ground rules for AI chatbots in California, but lawmakers clearly think we need to go further , especially when it comes to protecting kids.

“AI chatbots can be powerful tools for learning”, Bauer-Kahan said in a statement, “but right now, millions of children are using them with no guardrails and no guarantee of safety”. She added that we’ve already seen what happens when these platforms operate without proper oversight, and it’s not pretty. “AB 2023/SB 1119 ensures that as this technology grows, it grows safely”, she continued.

Look, this is one of those moments where regulation might actually be a good thing. AI chatbots aren’t going anywhere, and kids are definitely going to keep using them. But having some baseline safety standards , protecting their data, keeping harmful content out, and making sure companies are actually held accountable , that seems like the bare minimum, right?

It’s refreshing to see local lawmakers taking this seriously and trying to stay ahead of the curve on tech that’s evolving faster than most of us can keep up with.