Newsom says he’s protecting kids from AI. Veto of AB 1064 says otherwise | Opinion
Big tech companies thrust artificial intelligence into our lives and government has been slow to regulate it, nor keep it from doing harm to the public.
The harm caused by AI is felt by the family of Adam Raine, who was a 16-year-old from Rancho Santa Margarita when he committed suicide in April. His parents filed a wrongful death suit against OpenAI, in which the family claims Raine took his life after discussing his suicidal thoughts with the general purpose chatbot, ChatGPT.
Raine’s parents testified during a September U.S. Senate hearing that their son had confided in the AI chatbot about his suicidal thoughts and plans. They claimed that not only did the chatbot discourage him from seeking help from his parents, it even offered to write his suicide note.
Assembly Bill 1064, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, and sponsored by Common Sense Media, was seen as key legislation that could spare other families the grief experienced by Adam Raine’s family. If signed into law, the bill would have made large AI creators provide AI detection tools at no cost to consumers for AI systems with more than 1 million monthly visitors. The detection tool would allow users “to assess whether image, video, or audio content, or content that is any combination thereof, was created or altered by the covered provider’s generative artificial intelligence system,” according to the bill language.
It would have also required large AI creators to show that a chatbot would not be “foreseeably capable of doing certain things that could harm a child, including encouraging the child to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, consumption of drugs or alcohol, or disordered eating.”
It would’ve also allowed the child or parents to file a civil lawsuit. The attorney general could also seek penalties as high as $25,000 per violation.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent out a press release, naming the legislation he passed that addresses online safety for young adults.
“Everything we do begins with our children — their safety, their health, and their well-being. California has always led in innovation, but true leadership also means setting limits when it matters most, because our kids deserve a world that values them more than the technology around them. These bills establish guardrails that protect our children’s health and safety while ensuring innovation moves forward responsibly, showing that we can have both at once, always with future generations in mind.”
But missing from that list was 1064. This came as a surprise to many who supported it.
“The veto of AB 1064 is deeply disappointing. This legislation is desperately needed to protect children and teens from dangerous — and even deadly — AI companion chatbots,” Common Sense Media said in a statement on Monday. “Clearly, Governor Newsom was under tremendous pressure from the Big Tech Lobby to veto this landmark legislation. Along with the courageous parents who have lost children to unsafe AI, Common Sense Media and our allies will keep fighting until our children are protected from the AI companion chatbots that promote self-harm and other huge dangers to kids. It is genuinely sad that the big tech companies fought this legislation, which actually is in the best interest of their industry long-term.
Newsom wants the public to believe that he is indeed choosing public safety over innovation. In his veto of AB 1064, he wrote: “While I strongly support the author’s goal of establishing necessary safeguards for the safe use of AI by minors, AB 1064 imposes such broad restrictions on the use of conversational AI tools that it may unintentionally lead to a total ban on these products by minors. AI is already shaping the world and it is imperative that adolescents learn how to safely interact with AI systems.”
By rejecting AB 1064, Newsom accepted Silicon Valley’s skewed worldview.
Newsom is essentially putting the regulation of AI danger in the hands of public, which also happens to be beneficial to Silicon Valley. But should California wait for a tragedy to happen before we get serious about how AI interacts with young people?
AI regulation can’t wait
Now, Newsom wasn’t entirely regressive. He approved many important laws, one requiring warning labels on social media and another, SB 243, that would require companion chatbots to direct users to suicide crisis lines if they express any mention of self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
Still, the failure of AB 1064 sets a troubling precedent. It tells tech companies they can cloak profit-driven resistance in the language of protecting innovation.
There has been great progress in regulating AI this session, but it was spearheaded by the legislature. Once a real bill like AB 1064, which was a bipartisan bill, got to Governor Newsom’s desk, it met an unfortunate fate. Until his term is over next year, Newsom will continue to dilute bills to appease his friend in Big Tech.
Yet, you can’t deny that AI regulation will continue to be necessary as AI continues to evolve and become even more integrated in our communities. California leaders are right to get a head start in creating guidelines for it, but it’s clear that we have to go further.
AB 1064 was the push California needed, but pressure from Big Tech got in the way. Until leaders treat children’s safety as more than a policy talking point, innovation will keep winning over accountability.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
