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Padilla’s SB 300 seeks stricter protections for minors using companion chatbots
Summary
SB 300 would require operators to prevent chatbots from exposing minors to sexually explicit content and to adopt technical and policy measures to keep children safe; proponents argued platforms can and should implement protections, while industry raised concerns about liability and feasibility.
Senator Padilla presented SB 300 as a follow‑up to earlier chatbot laws, saying operators should be required to "prevent a chatbot from exposing a minor user to sexually explicit content of any kind." John Bennett of the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy told the committee the bill responds to internal platform documents and that operators are capable of distinguishing adult from minor users.
"These chatbots are integrated into platforms reaching hundreds of millions of users, underscoring the need for SB 300," Bennett said. Industry witnesses, including Robert Boykin of TechNet, urged caution about changing liability standards and about revising the reasonableness standard to an absolute duty to prevent, saying that could create de facto strict liability when a single output slips through safeguards.
Committee members debated whether to wait for enforcement lessons from SB 243 and how to structure proof and knowledge requirements. The sponsor and several members said recent evidence about platform behavior and cases involving Discord and other apps justified tightening protections now. The committee reserved a motion and vote until a quorum could act.
