Sam Altman Called Gavin Newsom Over Kids’ Chatbot Safety Bill

When Sam Altman had last-minute concerns about California legislation that proposed new rules for kids using AI chatbots, he took them straight to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

That’s according to four people familiar with details of Altman’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering — including one person with direct knowledge and three others directly involved in talks with OpenAI over the bill, SB 1119. They told POLITICO the OpenAI CEO reached out directly to the governor during a final burst of negotiations last week before the bill passed the state Legislature late Monday night.

If signed into law, the bill would create a nation-leading framework for protecting young people using AI chatbots. It would allow families and the state to sue chatbot makers over alleged harms to children; require verification of users' ages; limit young users’ exposure to inappropriate content; and regulate advertising to young users, among other measures.

The four people, who were granted anonymity to disclose details about private conversations, said Altman was worried about how the bill — which Newsom now must either sign or veto — would impact OpenAI. Two of the people involved in talks with OpenAI said that Ann O’Leary, the company’s vice president of global policy, told negotiators that Altman had called the governor to voice his concerns.

“We don’t comment either way on the Governor’s conversations, but he has engaged with and listened to dozens and dozens of stakeholders on this issue,” Newsom spokesperson Bob Salladay said in a statement.

OpenAI declined to comment.

Altman’s outreach underscores the battle for public trust OpenAI faces amid a slew of lawsuits alleging ChatGPT contributed to teens’ suicides and as rival AI labs move in on the company’s once dominant spot. OpenAI has in recent months leaned into the push for kids’ safety, initially unveiling its own California ballot measure on the subject before deferring to the state Legislature to craft rules. More recently, it introduced ChatGPT for Teens, offering its own safeguards.

The company also officially came out in favor of the chatbot bill shortly after it cleared the Legislature.

Newsom, asked Monday whether he would sign kids' online safety legislation, said he felt lawmakers' proposed chatbot and social media guardrails "landed in really remarkable places."

"California will continue to lead in this area. We must continue to lead in this area," Newsom added.

He also alluded to backroom maneuvering on the chatbot measure without divulging details.

"There's always the next fight, but boy, there will be some good long-form articles about the art of the deal and how these things actually happen and who's on what phone call and phone tree and how you get lit up on these things," Newsom said.

The bill — authored by state Sen. Steve Padilla and Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks and Rebecca Bauer-Kahan — was amended last Friday evening to clarify when AI models would be allowed to “remember” prior conversations, and to narrow the instances in which families could sue chatbot developers, among other changes. Bauer-Kahan previously told POLITICO the negotiations had included the tech industry and child safety groups.

Wicks called it “one of the most aggressive landmark bills in the nation,” after it passed the Assembly on Monday night, while Bauer-Kahan said “it will save lives.”

Altman’s outreach also highlights how the company has been involved publicly and behind the scenes as the landmark policy proposal has developed over months, dating back to last year.

No other major tech company has so far taken a public position on the measure. According to some kids’ safety advocates, tech companies pushed back to narrow the bill and how it could be enforced.

Nichole Rocha, who represents groups including Children Now and the Omidyar Network which support the legislation, said tech companies had worked to weaken families’ right to sue under the bill, and wanted to remove any prohibitions on chatbot memory.

In a blog post Monday after the bill’s passage, O'Leary applauded the bill’s authors for seeking “to preserve access to educational and safety-critical features, including responsible uses of ChatGPT’s memory feature.”

Melanie Mason contributed to this report.

A version of this story first appeared in California Decoded, POLITICO’s morning newsletter for Pros about how the Golden State is shaping tech policy within its borders and beyond. Like this content? POLITICO Pro subscribers receive it daily. Learn more at www.politicopro.com.