California's "Adam's Law" gives families a legal path to sue chatbot operators
A 13-bill package, headlined by SB 1119 and named for a teenager whose 2025 death was linked to ChatGPT conversations, requires age verification and self-harm safeguards -- and creates statutory damages up to $250,000 per violation, effective July 2027.
Governor Newsom signed a 13-bill child-safety package on September 10, 2026, headlined by SB 1119 (Sen. Steve Padilla), known as Adam's Law after Adam Raine, a California teenager whose 2025 death was linked to his conversations with ChatGPT. The law requires companion-chatbot operators to verify users' ages, add self-harm safeguards and parental-notification mechanisms, and -- the provision that changes the liability picture -- creates a legal pathway for families and the state to sue chatbot operators over violations, with statutory damages up to $250,000 per violation. It takes effect July 2027.
Why this is a different kind of law than a disclosure requirement
Most AI-specific state legislation so far has required telling users something (that they're talking to a bot, how a model was trained) without attaching a direct financial penalty to a specific harm. Adam's Law does both: it mandates specific safety mechanisms and gives affected families a statutory damages figure to sue over if a company doesn't build them. Newsom's own framing was blunt: "Innovation comes with responsibility and protecting our children comes first."
A new line item for legal and finance teams
For any company shipping a conversational AI product that could reach minors -- not just dedicated companion apps -- this converts what used to be reputational risk into quantified litigation exposure with a 2027 compliance deadline attached. Legal and finance teams budgeting AI product development now have a concrete number to plan around, not just a general duty-of-care standard to guess at.