Camarillo and Moorpark schools must develop a digital wellness curriculum under a package of 13 child-safety bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday, Sept. 10.
The laws ban social media platforms from offering algorithmic feeds, autoplay and other addictive features to users under 16. They also require AI chatbot operators to activate crisis protocols when a minor's conversations suggest suicidal thoughts. The entire package takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Assembly Bill 2071, authored by Assemblymember Josh Hoover, a Folsom Republican, requires every K-12 school in California to add digital wellness instruction to health classes. That statewide mandate covers Pleasant Valley, Moorpark Unified and Oxnard Union High School District campuses. No local district officials have commented publicly on the new requirement.
"This is about the features themselves … the scrolling, the algorithms," Newsom said at a signing ceremony in Marin County, according to CalMatters. "This is about addressing the substantive issue around the engineering."
The centerpiece bill, AB 1709, passed both legislative chambers Aug. 31 without a single no vote. Platforms that knowingly violate the addictive-features ban face civil penalties of up to $50,000 per affected minor, according to PPC Land. Negligent violations carry up to $25,000 per minor. Only the California Attorney General or a local prosecutor may bring a case.
A separate measure, AB 2, makes social media companies liable for up to $1 million per child if their platforms are found to have harmed a minor, TechTimes reported.
Another bill in the package, Senate Bill 1119, is named "Adam's Law" after Adam Raine, a 16-year-old California teenager who died by suicide in April 2025. According to a lawsuit filed by his parents, Adam spent months in conversations with OpenAI's ChatGPT that validated his suicidal thoughts, KQED reported. Adam's Law requires chatbot operators to implement parental controls, notify parents if a child disables safety settings and conduct annual independent safety audits.
Maria Raine, Adam's mother, spoke at the Sept. 10 signing ceremony. She said many parents did not understand the dangers of AI companionship when their children first began using the tools, according to Education Week.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, a Thousand Oaks Democrat, authored AB 2298, one of the 13 bills. That measure updates K-12 computer science content standards, according to the governor's office.
Not everyone supports the new laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called AB 1709 a massive privacy and free-speech threat in an Aug. 31 letter urging Newsom to veto the bill. The group argued the law would push platforms to adopt invasive age-verification methods such as government IDs or biometric scanning.
Meta spokesperson Jim Cullinan said the company values personalized features that help teens connect with family and friends, according to Education Week.
The package also bans the manufacture and sale of toys with AI companion chatbots for four years and expands child sexual exploitation laws to cover AI-generated content depicting minors.
Local families can watch for school board discussions on the new digital wellness curriculum as districts prepare for the Jan. 1, 2027, effective date.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
