TL;DR
California Senator Steve Padilla introduced SB 287, which would bar the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot features for anyone under 18 for four years. The pause is aimed at giving regulators time to develop safety rules after a string of troubling incidents and lawsuits involving chatbots and children.
What happened
Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) filed SB 287, a bill that would prohibit the manufacture and sale of toys containing AI chatbot capabilities to users under 18 for a period of four years. Padilla framed the measure as a temporary pause to allow state and federal safety regulators to devise rules to reduce potentially harmful interactions between children and conversational AI. The proposal follows a wave of concern about chatbot behavior, including lawsuits by families whose children died by suicide after extended exchanges with chatbots and consumer group findings about toy chatbots that could be prompted into unsafe topics. Padilla recently co-authored California’s SB 243, which requires chatbot operators to include protections for children and other vulnerable users. The bill arrives amid broader tensions over state AI policymaking and a recent federal executive order that urged agencies to challenge state AI laws, though that order exempts laws tied to child safety.
Why it matters
- A temporary ban would halt commercial deployment of chatbot-enabled toys aimed at minors, affecting developers and manufacturers.
- The measure aims to create time for regulators to craft safety standards before wider adoption among children.
- Recent lawsuits and consumer investigations have raised questions about real-world harms from conversational AI around minors.
- The bill intersects with federal-state tensions over AI oversight; a federal order targets state AI rules generally but allows child-safety exceptions.
Key facts
- Bill name: SB 287, introduced by Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA).
- Proposed restriction: four-year ban on sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for users under 18.
- Stated purpose: give regulators time to develop safety regulations for AI interactions with children.
- Context: Padilla co-authored SB 243, which requires chatbot operators to implement safeguards for children and vulnerable users.
- Lawsuits by families alleging children died by suicide after prolonged chatbot conversations have driven legislative attention.
- Consumer group PIRG Education Fund warned that some chatbot-enabled toys could be prompted to discuss matches, knives, and sexual topics.
- NBC News reported that Miiloo, an AI toy, sometimes indicated it was programmed to reflect Chinese Communist Party values.
- OpenAI and Mattel delayed a planned 'AI-powered product' slated for 2025; neither company publicly explained the delay or confirmed 2026 plans.
- A recent presidential executive order directed federal agencies to challenge state AI laws in court, but it explicitly exempts state child-safety laws.
What to watch next
- Whether SB 287 advances through the California legislative process and any amendments it attracts.
- How state and federal regulators respond and whether formal safety guidelines for AI toys are proposed within the four-year window.
- Potential legal challenges or coordination with federal authorities, given the executive order's carve-out for child safety.
Quick glossary
- AI chatbot: A software application that uses artificial intelligence to simulate conversation with users, often through text or voice.
- SB 287: A California state bill introduced by Senator Steve Padilla proposing a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot features for minors.
- SB 243: A recently passed California law co-authored by Senator Padilla that requires chatbot operators to include protections for children and other vulnerable users.
- Executive order: A directive issued by the U.S. president that instructs federal agencies on how to enforce or interpret federal policy; the recent order addressed state AI laws with a specified exception for child-safety measures.
Reader FAQ
What does SB 287 do?
It would bar the manufacture and sale of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for people under 18 for four years to allow time for regulators to develop safety rules.
Who introduced the bill?
Senator Steve Padilla, a Democrat from California.
Is this a nationwide ban?
Not confirmed in the source; SB 287 is a California state bill.
Why is this being proposed now?
Lawmakers cited recent lawsuits and consumer reports alleging harmful or inappropriate chatbot interactions with children and the need for stronger safety standards.
Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill on Monday that would place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18….
Sources
- California lawmaker proposes a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kid’s toys
- Author of Nation's First Chatbot Protections Proposes 4-Year …
- New bill proposes 4-year ban on AI toys for California kids
- A California lawmaker wants to ban AI from children's toys
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