California lawmakers are proposing a four-year ban on AI chatbots in children’s toys

Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill there will be a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for children under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to create regulations to protect children from “dangerous AI interactions.”

“Chatbots and other AI tools may become an integral part of our lives in the future, but the dangers they pose today require us to act boldly to protect our children,” Senator Padilla said in a statement. “Our safety regulations regarding this technology are still small and need to grow exponentially like the capabilities of this technology. The pause in the sale of toys that are integrated with this chatbot allows us to create appropriate safety guidelines and frameworks for this toy.”

The bill, dubbed SB 287, came in the wake of President Trump’s new executive order directed federal agencies to challenge state AI laws in court — even though the order expressly carves out exceptions for state laws related to child safety. The law also follows several incidents involving AI, chatbots, and children.

Last year, a lawsuit was filed by family which is the child died after participating in a long conversation with chatbots has spurred parliamentarians to act. Padilla is also the co-author of the recent California passed SB 243which requires chatbot operators to implement safeguards to protect children and vulnerable users.

While the use of chatbots in gaming has yet to become mainstream, there have been reports of disruptive interactions. In November 2025, a consumer advocacy group PIRG Education Fund is reminded a toy like Kumma – a cute toy bear with a built-in chatbot – can be easily asked to talk about matches, knives, and sexual topics. NBC News found out that Miiloo, an “AI toy for children” created by the Chinese company Miriat, will at times show that it is programmed to reflect the values ​​of the Chinese Communist Party.

OpenAI and Barbie maker Mattel are slated to release it “AI-powered products” in 2025but late that release. Neither company has explained the delay, and it is not clear if it plans to release the game in 2026.

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