California Lawmaker Proposes a Four-Year Ban On AI Chatbots In Kids' Toys (techcrunch.com)
(Wednesday January 07, 2026 @10:30PM (BeauHD)
from the cease-and-desist dept.)
- Reference: 0180543267
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/01/07/2145251/california-lawmaker-proposes-a-four-year-ban-on-ai-chatbots-in-kids-toys
- Source link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/california-lawmaker-proposes-a-four-year-ban-on-ai-chatbots-in-kids-toys/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch:
> Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a [1]bill [dubbed [2]SB 867 on Monday that would [3]place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from "dangerous AI interactions."
>
> "Chatbots and other AI tools may become integral parts of our lives in the future, but the dangers they pose now require us to take bold action to protect our children," Senator Padilla said in a statement. "Our safety regulations around this kind of technology are in their infancy and will need to grow as exponentially as the capabilities of this technology do. Pausing the sale of these chatbot-integrated toys allows us time to craft the appropriate safety guidelines and framework for these toys to follow." [...] "Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on," Padilla said.
[1] https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/author-nations-first-chatbot-protections-proposes-first-nation-moratorium-ai-chatbots-toys
[2] https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB867/id/3299950
[3] https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/california-lawmaker-proposes-a-four-year-ban-on-ai-chatbots-in-kids-toys/
> Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a [1]bill [dubbed [2]SB 867 on Monday that would [3]place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from "dangerous AI interactions."
>
> "Chatbots and other AI tools may become integral parts of our lives in the future, but the dangers they pose now require us to take bold action to protect our children," Senator Padilla said in a statement. "Our safety regulations around this kind of technology are in their infancy and will need to grow as exponentially as the capabilities of this technology do. Pausing the sale of these chatbot-integrated toys allows us time to craft the appropriate safety guidelines and framework for these toys to follow." [...] "Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on," Padilla said.
[1] https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/author-nations-first-chatbot-protections-proposes-first-nation-moratorium-ai-chatbots-toys
[2] https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB867/id/3299950
[3] https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/california-lawmaker-proposes-a-four-year-ban-on-ai-chatbots-in-kids-toys/
Re: Malibu Stacy (Score:1)
by RightwingNutjob ( 1302813 )
Math class to better than IEEE double precision is tough!
Including phones? (Score:3, Insightful)
by hadleyburg ( 823868 )
Does "toys with AI chatbot capabilities" include iPhones?
Re: (Score:1)
by Sindoku ( 2715257 )
yeah, we're getting a bit too broad on this kind of ban. I don't think companies are eager to get sued as it is.
Re: (Score:2)
by OrangeTide ( 124937 )
Not broad enough. I think iPhones should count as kids toys. And anyone under 95 ought to count as a "kid'.
Doesn't COPA alread cover this? (Score:2)
by anoncoward69 ( 6496862 )
I mean you have to send personal details to a chatbot to have any kind of realistic chat with it. Im sure COPA would cover for those of age to be covered by COPA
How about (Score:3)
Indefinite ban until it can be proven it has zero ill effect on children's development.
Re: (Score:1)
Communist.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm less sure of that.
Weighing the benefit against the theoretical damage it does to society, I think the Calculus is probably on the positive end of the scale.
The US Customary measurement system on the other hand is concentrated pure evil.
Re: How about (Score:1)
My car gets twelve rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it!
Re: (Score:2)
You can't prove a negative...