Companion chatbots: crisis interruption pauses.

Technology

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Pellerin
Last action: 2026-06-03
Official status: Referred to Coms. on P., D.T., & C.P. and HEALTH.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific enforcement measures or penalties for non-compliance.

Companion Chatbots: Crisis Interruption Pauses

This law requires chatbot operators to pause conversations and encourage users to seek help if the chatbot detects a credible crisis expression.

What This Bill Does

Requires chatbot operators to initiate a 20-minute pause if a user's conversation shows signs of intent to harm themselves or others.
Encourages users to talk to real people when they are in danger.
Needs chatbot companies to make public rules about how they will spot and handle dangerous situations.
Requires chatbot operators to document information related to credible crisis expressions and report it annually starting January 1, 2028.

Who It Names or Affects

People who use companion chatbots
Companies that run chatbot services

Terms To Know

credible crisis expression: A statement by someone using a chatbot that reasonably indicates intent to harm the user or others.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if companies do not follow the rules.
It is unclear how many chatbots will be affected by this law.
There are no details on how the government office will use the reported information.

Bill History

2026-06-03 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on P., D.T., & C.P. and HEALTH.
2026-05-21 California Legislative Information
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
2026-05-21 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 73. Noes 0.)
2026-05-18 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2026-05-14 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
2026-05-06 California Legislative Information
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
2026-04-22 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2026-04-16 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 16). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
2026-04-15 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
2026-04-14 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.
2026-04-13 California Legislative Information
(Pending re-refer to Com. on HEALTH)
2026-04-13 California Legislative Information
Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 4580.)
2026-03-09 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and HEALTH.
2026-02-14 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.
2026-02-13 California Legislative Information
Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1988, as amended, Pellerin.
Companion chatbots: crisis interruption pauses.
Existing law requires, among other things related to ensuring the safety of companion chatbots, an operator to prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm content to the user, as specified.
This
bill
bill, the Preventing AI User Self Endangerment (PAUSE) Act,
would
require, if a companion chatbot detects a credible crisis expression, the companion chatbot to take certain actions, including encouraging the user to seek immediate human support, and, if the companion chatbot detects that a user is reaffirming or escalating the credible crisis expression or detects a subsequent credible crisis expression, require the companion chatbot to initiate a crisis interruption pause of 20 minutes.
require an operator to adopt and make publicly available a policy governing its protocol for identifying and responding to credible crisis expressions and, for each companion chatbot an operator makes available to users in this state, implement a system for monitoring and detecting credible crisis expressions in user conversations with companion chatbots. The bill would require, if the monitoring system detects a credible crisis expression, the operator to take certain actions, including commence a crisis interruption pause, as specified.
The bill would define “credible crisis expression” to mean a statement by a user of a companion chatbot that reasonably indicates, as determined through contextual analysis rather than keyword detection alone, intent to harm the user or others.
This bill would require an operator of a companion chatbot to document certain information related to credible crisis expressions and crisis interruption
pauses and, beginning January 1, 2028, annually report that information to the Office of Suicide Prevention.
The bill would provide for its enforcement, as specified.

Current Bill Text

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