A California lawmaker is proposing a four-year ban on AI chatbots in children’s games

Sen. Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill Monday that would impose a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys containing AI-powered chatbot capabilities to children under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from “dangerous AI interactions.”

“Chatbots and other artificial intelligence tools may become an integral part of our lives in the future, but the risks they pose now require us to take bold action to protect our children,” Senator Padilla said in a statement. “Our safety regulations around this type of technology are still in their infancy and will need to grow as exponentially as the capabilities of this technology. Pausing the sale of these games integrated with chatbots gives us time to formulate the appropriate safety guidelines and framework for these games to follow.”

The bill, called SB 287, comes on the heels of President Trump’s recent executive order directing federal agencies to challenge state AI laws in court — although the order explicitly makes exceptions to state laws related to child safety. The legislation also follows several incidents involving artificial intelligence, chatbots and children.

Over the past year, lawsuits filed by families whose children died by suicide after engaging in lengthy conversations with chatbots have prompted lawmakers to act. Padilla also co-authored California’s recently passed SB 243, which requires chatbot operators to implement safeguards to protect children and vulnerable users.

Although the use of chatbots in games is not yet prevalent, there have already been reports of troubling interactions. In November 2025, consumer advocacy group PIRG Education Fund warned that toys like Kumma — a cute teddy bear with built-in chat software — could easily be induced to talk about matches, knives and sexual themes. NBC News found that Miiloo, an “artificial intelligence toy for children” made by Chinese company Miriat, sometimes suggested it had been programmed to reflect the values ​​of the Chinese Communist Party.

OpenAI and Barbie maker Mattel were scheduled to release an “AI-powered product” in 2025, but have delayed its release. Neither company explained this delay, and it is not clear whether they plan to release a game in 2026.

“Our children cannot be used as guinea pigs for Big Tech to experiment with,” Padilla said.