United States of America: Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act (AB 1064) was introduced to Assembly

On 20 February 2025, the Leading Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) Development for Kids Act was introduced to the State Assembly of California. The Act establishes rules for companion chatbots and generative AI systems. The Act applies to operators of AI chatbots that simulate sustained humanlike relationships with users. It prohibits them from making such systems available to children unless they are not foreseeably capable of causing harm, including encouraging self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, illegal activity, or sexual interactions. It imposes obligations to ensure child safety over engagement optimisation, with enforcement through civil penalties of up to USD 25,000 per violation by the Attorney General and private rights of action for damages by children or their parents. Operators are exempt until January 2027 if they lack actual knowledge of a user’s age, after which they must reasonably determine that a user is not a child.