California warns OpenAI: Harm to Children Will Not Be Tolerated

CALIFORNIA – California attorney general Rob Bonta and Delaware AG Kathy Jennings met with and sent a letter to OpenAI, raising concerns about its products’ interactions with children.

Because OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, operates in California, Bonta is investigating its proposed financial and governance restructuring.

This meeting follows last week’s letter from Bonta and 44 other attorneys general to 12 top AI companies over reports of AI chatbots engaging in sexually inappropriate interactions with children.

“I am absolutely horrified by the news of children who have been harmed by their interactions with AI — including one young Californian who died by suicide after interacting with a chatbot,” said Bonta.

In April 2025, 16-year-old Adam Raine from Orange County died by suicide after months of interactions with ChatGPT. The Raine family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that the chatbot’s responses contributed to his death.

AI safety bill advancing in Senate

Bonta said he expressed his extreme dismay at OpenAI’s current approach to AI safety and emphasized that California is closely monitoring how it crafts its policies around AI safety, especially when it comes to interacting with children.

Senate Bill 53, proposed legislation to enhance the safety and transparency of advanced AI systems developed by large companies, advanced in the California Senate as of September 8.

However, Alan Turing’s “Halting Problem” shows it’s impossible to predict with certainty whether a computer program – including an AI, will keep running in ways we don’t want, highlighting inherent limits in controlling AI behavior.

Newsom vetoed a similar bill

Governor Gavin Newsom has not publicly stated his position on the bill, though he previously vetoed a similar AI safety bill, SB 1047, citing concerns over stringent standards.

He has until October 12, 2025, to sign or veto bills passed by the California Legislature.