OpenAI supports California’s bill to advance youth AI safety

OpenAI says it supports SB 1119 and urges Governor Newsom to sign it. The bill calls for age determination, risk assessment, independent audits, safeguards against self-harm and sexual exploitation, parental tools, crisis resources, privacy, and limits on targeted advertising. Protections would apply automatically to users identified as 13 through 17.

OpenAI says nearly nine in ten teen ChatGPT users use it weekly for learning, information, skills, or productivity. Its ChatGPT for Teens applies built-in protections to estimated or self-identified under-18 users.

This is a vendor endorsing rules close to its own product direction, so its safety claims are not independent evidence.

Age estimation is imperfect, and restrictions can collide with legitimate educational uses. The bill’s distinction between AI and social media suggests a tailored regime.

Signal Desk's read: SB 1119 is a meaningful test of whether youth governance can be specific without becoming blunt. Independent audits and crisis escalation will expose gaps between policy and behavior.

OpenAI argues memory can support continuity and safety, but persistent context raises privacy and error stakes.

OpenAI cites parental controls, age prediction, a Teen Safety Blueprint, and Under-18 Principles that prohibit romantic engagement, emotional dependence, and claims that ChatGPT is human. It frames the bill as a response to absent federal action.