Putting Kids AI Safety First

This has been a banner year in the fight for kids AI safety. Democrats and Republicans from across the country united to stop Washington from imposing a 10-year federal moratorium on state AI safety efforts. California enacted a trio of landmark AI safety laws that will put strong safety disclosure requirements and whistleblower protections in place for AI companies that develop powerful frontier models, establish an effective age verification system to protect kids from inappropriate material, and require warning labels on social media.

Sadly, 2025 has been a breakout year for youth AI harms as well. Teens rushed to use AI companions, with one third choosing to discuss serious matters with chatbots rather than humans. Parents of three teens who committed suicide after prolonged engagement with AI companions testified before a Senate subcommittee. “Our children are not experiments,” said one. “This is a mental health war, and I really feel like we are losing.”

Parents are tired of losing and determined to fight back. That’s why Common Sense Kids Action just filed the California Kids AI Safety Act, a pivotal ballot initiative to protect and prepare kids and teens in the age of AI.

Time and time again, we’ve seen that Big Tech companies won’t protect kids on their own. Their mantra has always been “move fast and break things.” The California Kids AI Safety Act responds to the plea of concerned parents instead: act fast to fix things.

Here’s what the initiative will do:

1. Strictly limit access to dangerous AI companion chatbots for kids and teens. The initiative will prevent companies from distributing to minors AI companion chatbots that encourage dangerous and potentially deadly behavior, and restrict AI products designated an unacceptable risk.

2. Get cell phones out of the classroom. Teens use their phones more than four hours a day and receive an average of 50 notifications during the school day. Cell phone use is taking a toll on students’ mental health – and on their test scores in science, reading, and math. In 2024, California became one of a dozen states to pass statewide restrictions on cell phones in schools. The initiative will promote student attention and learning by ensuring schools have the resources they need to carry out that law and limit students’ time on social media and AI companions during the school day.

3. Hold AI and social media companies accountable for the harms they cause, including serious injury, self-harm, and death. The initiative will establish statutory damages for those harms and authorize the Attorney General to impose fines when AI companies violate the law.

4. Prohibit the sale or sharing of teen personal data. The California Consumer Privacy Act – which the legislature passed unanimously in June 2018 after a privacy initiative qualified for the November ballot – prohibited the sale or sharing of personal data for users under 16 without parental consent. The California Kids AI Safety Act will expand those protections to cover users under 18.

5. Require child AI safety audits so parents and teachers know whether an AI product intended for kids is safe for kids. The initiative will require independent safety audits to inform consumers about product risks and identify AI products that pose unacceptable risks to kids and teens.

6. Teach AI literacy and safety curriculum in school. Last year, the California legislature unanimously passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure to make AI literacy part of the state’s school curriculum. The initiative provides the necessary resources for the California Department of Education to properly review, update, and integrate AI literacy and safety so that students of all ages understand how to use AI in a safe, responsible, and ethical manner.

Taken together, the California Kids AI Safety Act represents the strongest AI safety measure ever put forward in the United States. As former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in endorsing the initiative this week, “Our experience with social media has demonstrated what happens to youth mental health when we fail to put adequate protections in place. It is our collective responsibility to ensure technology helps — not harms — our kids.”

Every element has enthusiastic public support because it puts kids’ and teens’ health and safety first. Parents are pleading for their leaders to meet the moment with courage and conviction. This initiative is on the side of California families – and the right side of history.