Attorney General Bonta Warns AI Companies: If You Harm Children, You Will Be Held Accountable in California

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, along with 44 attorneys general, sent a letter to 12 of the top artificial intelligence (AI) companies, after reports of sexually inappropriate interactions between AI chatbots and children. In the letter, the attorneys general make it clear to the companies that states throughout the nation are paying close attention to how companies craft their policies surrounding AI safety and highlight that as entities that benefit from children’s engagement with their products, these companies have a legal obligation to children as consumers.

“As the fourth largest economy in the world, California knows that protecting our kids and pursuing innovation go hand in hand — they are not diametrically opposed. When faced with the decision about how their products treat children, the companies developing and deploying AI technologies must exercise sound judgment and prioritize children’s well-being,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Exposing children to sexualized content is indefensible. Full stop. This is an easy, clear, and non-negotiable line for companies leading revolutionary emerging technology, like AI. Today, I am proud to send a strong message alongside attorneys general across the nation — and across the aisle: AI companies who make choices that lead their technology to harm children will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Today’s letters were sent to Anthropic, Apple, Chai AI, Google, Luka Inc., Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, Open AI, Perplexity AI, Replika, and xAI.

In sending this letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of the following states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to protecting Californians by responding to emerging and rapidly evolving technology. 

In the last years, Attorney General Bonta has filed lawsuits against Meta and TikTok. Both lawsuits are ongoing and claim that the social media giants intentionally designed their platforms to addict young people to their mental and physical detriment.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta issued two legal advisories, reminding consumers of their rights, and advising businesses and healthcare entities who develop, sell, or use AI about their obligations under California law. Although AI technology is developing rapidly, entities must comply with existing California laws. The legal advisories can be found here, and here. In the last few months, Attorney General Bonta sent multiple letters  (here and here) to Congressional leaders strongly opposing a 10-year ban on states from enforcing any state law or regulation addressing AI and automated decision-making systems, arguing the rapidly evolving nature of AI technology demands the flexibility and responsiveness that states can provide and urging lawmakers to remove the provision. The ban was struck down in July. 

In 2024, Attorney General Bonta sent a comment letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) related to the potential impact of emerging AI technology on efforts to protect consumers from illegal robocalls or robotexts. In 2023, Attorney General Bonta joined a bipartisan coalition of 54 states and territories in sending a letter to Congressional leaders calling for the creation of an expert commission to study how AI can and is being used to exploit children through child sexual abuse material (CSAM). 

A copy of the letter can be found here.