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California SB 243: Companion Chatbots
CA-SB-243 · US · binding regulation
Source: https://policywindow.org/wiki/ca-sb-243
Generated 2026-06-17T14:09:51 UTC
Summary
SB 243 ('Companion chatbots'), Chapter 677, Statutes of 2025, approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on October 13, 2025, adds Chapter 22.6 (§§ 22601–22606) to Division 8 of the California Business and Professions Code — the first US state statute to specifically regulate 'companion chatbots' (AI systems with a natural-language interface that provide adaptive, human-like responses meeting a user's social needs). Operators must give a clear, conspicuous notification that the chatbot is AI and not human where a reasonable person would be misled (§ 22602(a)), maintain a published self-harm/crisis-referral protocol (§ 22602(b)), and protect known minors (§ 22602(c): a default every-three-hours AI/break reminder and measures against sexually explicit content). Enforcement is a private right of action (§ 22605: injunctive relief, the greater of actual damages or $1,000 per violation, and attorney's fees) — a deployment/consumer-protection design distinct from the frontier-developer transparency statute SB 53 (TFAIA, ch. 138). Operator duties are operative Jan. 1, 2026; § 22603 annual reporting to the Office of Suicide Prevention begins July 1, 2027.
At a glance
- Adopted
- 2025-10-13
- Effective
- 2026-01-01
- Status
- in force
- Primary source
- Cal. Stats. 2025, ch. 677 (SB 243); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code, Div. 8, ch. 22.6, §§ 22601–22606 (added by SB 243, approved by Governor Oct. 13, 2025)
- Source URL
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB243
How to cite this article
APA
Policy Window. (2025). California SB 243: Companion Chatbots [Wiki article — Instrument]. https://policywindow.org/wiki/ca-sb-243
Chicago
Policy Window. 2025. "California SB 243: Companion Chatbots." Wiki article (Instrument). https://policywindow.org/wiki/ca-sb-243.
Harvard
Policy Window (2025) 'California SB 243: Companion Chatbots', Wiki article — Instrument, available at: https://policywindow.org/wiki/ca-sb-243.
OSCOLA
Policy Window, 'California SB 243: Companion Chatbots' (Wiki article — Instrument, 2025) <https://policywindow.org/wiki/ca-sb-243> accessed [date].
BibTeX
@misc{policywindow-ca-sb-243,
title = {California SB 243: Companion Chatbots},
author = {Policy Window},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {Cal. Stats. 2025, ch. 677 (SB 243); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code, Div. 8, ch. 22.6, §§ 22601–22606 (added by SB 243, approved by Governor Oct. 13, 2025)},
url = {https://policywindow.org/wiki/ca-sb-243},
note = {Primary source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB243}
}