OpenAI endorses California's SB 1119 youth chatbot safety bill after opposing similar rules last year

OpenAI has endorsed SB 1119, California's companion-chatbot safety bill for minors, and the endorsement, not the bill, is the story. The state Senate passed SB 1119 39-0 in May, so OpenAI is attaching its name to a law that was already moving without it, roughly two years after the company began lobbying against California's AI safety rules 1.

OpenAI confirmed its support in a post backing "strong, age-appropriate AI safeguards for teens," relayed by CXO-Community from the company's own announcement 2. The last time a youth chatbot bill reached Governor Gavin Newsom, OpenAI's lobbyists were on the other side, and that bill died by veto in October 2025. About three months later, OpenAI was standing beside the bill's sponsor 3.

The two-year arc: from SB 1047 opponent to SB 1119 endorser

The reversal reads cleanest as a sequence:

• September 2024: OpenAI opposed the AI safety bill SB 1047, calling instead for national regulation. Newsom vetoed it on Sept. 29, 2024 4.
• September 2025: OpenAI lobbied against SB 53 alongside Meta and Alphabet, saying it preferred federal rules. Newsom signed it anyway on Sept. 29, 2025 56.
• October 2025: Newsom vetoed AB 1064, the companion-chatbot bill co-sponsored by the child advocacy group Common Sense Media that OpenAI lobbyists had actively opposed 73.
• Jan. 9, 2026: OpenAI and Common Sense Media dropped their competing ballot measures and announced one consolidated youth AI safety initiative 38.
• May 19, 2026: SB 1119 passed the full Senate 39-0 1.
• Aug. 22, 2026: OpenAI's global affairs team publicly called for strengthening SB 53, the law it once fought, under an approach it named "reverse federalism" 9.

The sequence is the finding. Run the calendar and the arc is tight: opponent of the vetoed youth bill to partner of its sponsor in about three months, and SB 1047 opponent to SB 1119 endorser in just under two years.

Why OpenAI flipped: the fight moved from Sacramento to the courthouse

The motive is not abstract. OpenAI is facing several lawsuits from plaintiffs claiming ChatGPT brought on mental delusions and, in four cases, drove people to suicide 3. Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, put it plainly: "How you build this trust is incredibly important for the societal license to be able to operate" 3.

The market being regulated is large and young. According to Common Sense Media figures cited by the bill's authors, 72% of teens have used an AI companion, more than half are regular users, and the average user spends 93 minutes a day with AI chatbots, 18 minutes more than on TikTok 10.

For builders, the asymmetry is the point. Sacramento ran four companion-chatbot measures this session: SB 1119 and its Assembly twin AB 2023, plus SB 300, which requires companion chatbot operators to block sexually explicit material (38-0 in the Senate), and SB 867, which bans companion chatbots in toys 1. OpenAI sells neither a companion app nor a toy; its flagship is a general-purpose assistant. For a frontier lab, the trade reads favorable: pay compliance costs it can carry, collect parent trust it is currently defending in court.

What SB 1119 would actually require, and what the endorsement cost

The bill builds on SB 243, the 2025 law that already makes chatbot operators tell minor users they are talking to AI, remind them to take a break every three hours, and block sexually explicit content 11. The new layer, per the same guide and the authors' announcement:

• Age verification of chatbot users, using device-level systems the Digital Age Assurance Act requires for devices sold starting Jan. 1, 2027 11.
• Subject-matter limits on minor accounts: no encouraging self-harm, no health advice, no sexual material, and a prohibition on "overly sycophantic responses" 11.
• Civil penalties up to $5,000 per negligent violation and $15,000 per intentional one, each assessed per affected child, plus a right for children who suffer actual harm to sue 11.

Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, who authored the vetoed 2025 bill and co-authored AB 2023, put it in January: "The legislature's role remains unchanged" 3.

In 2024, OpenAI's answer to Sacramento was to wait for Washington. Its stated position now is that states "can move in a compatible direction" and become the foundation for a national standard 9. The bills are moving either way. OpenAI has decided to be standing next to them when they land.