AI Frontier Institute

Toys: companion chatbots.

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California Senate Bill 867 (Chapter 189), signed September 10, 2026, amends the Business and Professions Code to temporarily ban the manufacture, sale, exchange, or possession with intent to sell of any toy that includes a companion chatbot. The bill defines 'toy' (Section 22601(g)) as a physical product designed, marketed, or manufactured for use in play by children under 16 years of age, and 'companion chatbot' (Section 22601(b)) as an AI system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses and can meet a user's social needs, including sustaining relationships across multiple interactions. The prohibition, codified in new Section 22604.5, is a sunset provision that automatically repeals on January 1, 2031. Violations are subject to the same civil liability that applies to operators of companion chatbot platforms under existing law. The bill explicitly excludes from the companion chatbot definition bots used only for customer service, video game bots limited to game-related replies, and stand-alone voice-assistant speaker devices that do not sustain relationships or generate emotionally eliciting outputs.

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