10 signatures reached
To: CA Representatives and Senators
SB 1181 – Youth Mental Health and AI Use
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a source of companionship for young people without proper safeguards, it can harm their mental health. According to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, approximately one in eight American teenagers and young adults are using AI chatbots for mental health guidance. (One in Eight Adolescents and Young Adults Use AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice, 2025)
As constituents we ask that California's Legislators pass legislature that:
As constituents we ask that California's Legislators pass legislature that:
1. Set Age & Content Limits
- Require a minimum age of 13 to use AI platforms
- Restrict AI from engaging in mental health counseling with minors
- Enforce strong content protections for users under 18
- Require a minimum age of 13 to use AI platforms
- Restrict AI from engaging in mental health counseling with minors
- Enforce strong content protections for users under 18
2. Strengthen Privacy Protections
- Limit collection and storage of photos and personal media
- Protect young users’ identities and sensitive data
- Limit collection and storage of photos and personal media
- Protect young users’ identities and sensitive data
Why is this important?
AI systems are already shaping how youth think, feel, and cope. Without regulation, they can contribute to anxiety, depression, addictive behaviors, and harmful advice. Leading health organizations warn that AI can negatively influence adolescent wellbeing without proper oversight, and research highlights the rapid rise in youth reliance on these tools.
The Legislature acknowledges that algorithmic systems and (AI)-powered platforms are increasingly influencing young people's online experiences, which can have a harmful effect on their mental health by contributing to anxiety and depression, which can result in addictive behaviors and suicidal thoughts. In order to prevent technology developments from jeopardizing the growth and safety of California's youth, this bill aims to strike a balance between these systems' ability and accountability.
By addressing the increasing influence AI and digital technologies have on young people's mental health development, lawmakers seek to pass legislation to safeguard children's and adolescents' safety, wellbeing, and mental health in California.
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References
- https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB1181/id/3367420
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1181#99INT
- https://www.apa.org/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/health-advisory-ai-adolescent-well-being
- https://www.apa.org/topics/artificial-intelligence-machine-learning/health-advisory-ai-adolescent-well-being
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12621494/ (Adolescent Health and Generative AI—Risks and Benefits)
- Revolutionizing Youth Mental Health with Ethical AI
- AI and mental health: emerging clinical considerations
- https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/more-teens-are-using-ai-what-parents-should-know
- You, Daniel. “AI and Mental Health: Emerging Clinical Considerations.” Australasian Psychiatry : Bulletin of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists [England], February 2026, p. 10398562261423840, https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562261423840.
- https://jedfoundation.org/artificial-intelligence-youth-mental-health-pov/