SB 867: Toys: companion chatbots.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law regulates the sale, manufacture, and exchange of toys in the state and prohibits the manufacture, sale, or exchange, possession with intent to sell or exchange, and exposition or offer for sale or exchange to a retailer a toy that is contaminated with a toxic substance, as provided. Violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor.

Existing law requires an operator of a companion chatbot platform, as defined, to issue a clear and conspicuous notification indicating that the companion chatbot is artificially generated and not human if a reasonable person interacting with a companion chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human. For these purposes, existing law defines a “companion chatbot” to mean an artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs and is capable of meeting a user’s social needs, including by exhibiting anthropomorphic features and being able to sustain a relationship across multiple interactions. Existing law also requires an operator to take certain actions with respect to a user the operator knows is a minor, including to disclose to the user that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence. Violation of these provisions is subject to civil liability.

This bill would, until January 1, 2031, prohibit the manufacture, sale, exchange, possession with intent to sell or exchange, and exposition or offer for sale or exchange to a retailer a toy, as defined, that includes a companion chatbot, and would make violations of the bill subject to the same civil liability as violations of the provisions applicable to operators of companion chatbots in the above-described paragraph.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 9 · Republican 2

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. September 10, 2026Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 189, Statutes of 2026.
2. September 10, 2026Approved by the Governor.
3. September 9, 2026Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
4. August 31, 2026Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
5. August 31, 2026In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
6. August 31, 2026Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 74. Noes 1. Page 6981.) Ordered to the Senate.
7. August 27, 2026Ordered to third reading.
8. August 27, 2026Read third time and amended.
9. August 27, 2026Joint Rule 61(b)(16) suspended. (Ayes 58. Noes 1. Page 6727.)
10. August 17, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
11. August 13, 2026Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
12. August 13, 2026From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 13).