California has passed a pioneering law regulating relational artificial intelligences for the first time, imposing transparency and protection obligations for users, including minors. After its « anti-Terminator law », California last week passed a groundbreaking AI law, Senate Bill 243, the so-called Companion Chatbots Act, which establishes for the first time in the US a specific legal regime for relational artificial intelligences. Signed on October 13, 2025 by Governor Gavin Newsom and incorporated into the Business and Professions Code, the text will come into force on January 1, 2026, with reporting obligations deferred until July 1, 2027. It aims to provide a framework for chatbots capable of maintaining a prolonged and emotional relationship with a user, in a context where…
