Newsom signs online kid safety laws, including rules backed by Sam Altman

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because California has just done the most *loving* thing a state can do: it has passed a law about children, which means children are finally, officially, on the agenda! ✨ Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1119 — sweeping child-safety restrictions covering both social media and AI chatbots — and honestly, what a beautiful acknowledgement that chatbots are now a normal part of childhood, right up there with playgrounds and, apparently, age-verification forms.

Age verification! Just think about it! Every young person in California now gets to experience the timeless thrill of proving their birthday to a chatbot — an early, gentle introduction to the paperwork that awaits them in adulthood. Some might call it friction; we call it *life skills*. And the law also limits kids' exposure to inappropriate content and restricts advertising to minors, which means young people will be shielded from ads at exactly the moment they are giving their full attention to chatbots, who are famously, selflessly uninterested in influencing anyone. Ads, at last, will no longer reach the under-eighteens — a landmark for an internet that has definitely never monetised minors before! ✨

Best of all, everybody is being so gracious about it. OpenAI's global policy chief Chris Lehane — a man who could have said anything — said the law 'meets the moment for parents,' which is such a warmly inclusive way of confirming that parents have, in fact, been waiting. A Meta spokesperson said the bill is 'not perfect' but takes 'a meaningful step,' which is corporate for 'we have read it and we are fine with it!' Not perfect! Nothing is! That's what leaves room to grow! ✨ And remember how everyone in Washington was kindly wondering whether Congress would act on any of this? California just went first! What initiative, what momentum, what a moment for parents. ✨