New California Digital Safety Laws and Mental Health Outcomes

The majority of us don’t think about how the time we spend online impacts us. Our online life is just part of daily living. Teens scroll through social media between classes. Adults use it to unwind at night. We get our news, entertainment, and even friendships online. But as technology has expanded and become an inevitable part of life, so have concerns about its impact on mental health. 

Recent conversations about California digital safety laws and mental health protections have brought new attention to how online environments affect our well-being. Because of how widespread online life is, this digital safety legislation California overview explores what these new regulations are and what they aim to change. It also considers whether these policy changes can improve mental health outcomes.

How Does Digital Life Affect Mental Health?

The majority of us spend some amount of time online every day, whether it’s reading the news, scrolling social media, or answering emails. In fact, studies show that nearly all U.S. teens report using some form of online activity daily, with many doing so “constantly.”¹ And 40% of adults report using the internet several times a day.²

Constantly being connected matters because research has linked heavy social media and online use with mental health challenges in both teens and adults.³ For teens, those who spend more than three hours a day on social media are at double the risk of experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.⁴ 

Beyond time spent, online behaviors like cyberbullying and exposure to harmful content can deeply influence psychological well-being. Around 46% of young people report being bullied online, and those who experience electronic harassment are more likely to report persistent emotional distress.⁵

The impact that digital life can have, especially for teens and young adults, is the reason for California’s digital safety regulation for mental health.

What Are California’s New Digital Safety Laws?

California has recently passed several laws around digital safety, mainly focused on protecting young people. One of these laws is the Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043), which requires operating systems to implement age verification when users set up their devices. This will provide a signal regarding the person’s age bracket to applications available in the app store.⁶  The purpose is to help platforms determine whether a user is a minor so they can apply appropriate safety settings and content restrictions. But this isn’t the only law in place designed to protect well-being. Others involve regulating interactions with AI, social media, deepfake content, and cyberbullying, which we’ll take a look at next. 

Companion Chatbots 

California has also implemented the SB 243 law. This law requires chatbot operators to disclose to minors that they are interacting with AI. Under the law, the chatbot operator must give an initial transparent and conspicuous message that the chatbot isn’t human, and they should also recommend when the user should take a break. 

Further, SB 243 requires these operators to have a protocol in place to prevent suicide or self-harm content, including providing users with a crisis hotline if they express such concerns.⁷ 

Artificial Intelligence and Social Media Platform Protections

Another law for digital safety implemented in California is SB 53, which introduces measures to improve transparency in artificial intelligence systems. This law requires large AI developers to publish safety and transparency reports about how their systems are built and tested.⁸ 

Another new California internet safety law to improve mental health outcomes is AB 56, which is the Social Media Warning Law. This law requires social media platforms to display a “black box warning” to users under 18. ​​The warning will appear on the screen for a duration of time and will display this message: “The Surgeon General has warned that while social media may have benefits for some young users, social media is associated with significant mental health harms and has not been proven safe for young users.”⁹ 

Other Digital Safety Laws

Two other California digital safety laws that may have an impact on teen mental health are AB 621 and AB 772. AB 621 strengthens protections online by allowing people to file lawsuits against individuals or entities for the creation or distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes. It is also increasing penalties for the distribution of deepfakes.¹⁰

Under AB 772, California is developing a model policy to address cyberbullying that occurs outside of school hours and off campus. The policy will provide guidance to schools and county offices of education on how to handle cyberbullying incidents.¹¹ 

Together, these laws represent a broader movement for digital regulation in California and mental health conversations. 

Will Digital Safety Laws Actually Improve Mental Health?

Regarding California’s online safety, mental health effects will hopefully improve after these laws are implemented. However, it is too soon to know if these laws will improve mental health or not.  While California lawmakers designed these laws to reduce risk, they are not a cure-all for anxiety, depression, or other psychological concerns.

What we hope these laws will do is:

• Limit the amount of harmful content young people are exposed to by encouraging platforms to verify age and apply stronger safety measures.
• Increase transparency, where people better understand they are using AI or are talking with a chatbot and not a human.
• Provide warnings about the impact of social media use, especially for younger people, so people are able to make educated decisions about its use.
• Protect children and teens from cyberbullying and being victims of sexually explicit content.

These measures are part of broader conversations about the impact of AI and social media laws on mental health in California. By adjusting platform accountability and safety expectations, the state is creating conditions that may support healthier digital engagement.

What Laws Can and Cannot Do

While laws can function as a safeguard, limiting access to things that might negatively impact well-being, they have limits. Laws cannot eliminate every negative aspect of online life, like comparison issues, peer conflict, or exposure to upsetting content. They also cannot prevent loneliness, trauma, or stress. Even as California’s Digital Safety laws and social media usage policies evolve, family, school, and community constantly shape mental health outcomes.

The impact of AI and social media law on mental health in California may influence platform behavior. However, lasting change often requires education, emotional skill-building, and early intervention alongside policy reform.

Why Early Intervention Still Matters

As we continue to have conversations about how California’s digital safety laws affect mental health, it’s important to remember that policy alone cannot resolve emotional distress. While safer digital environments and more awareness may reduce some risks, they cannot fully address mental health struggles that people may already be developing. 

For many teens and young adults, changes in mental health may happen gradually, such as withdrawal from friends, irritability, difficulty sleeping, or persistent sadness. The experiences they have online can worsen these symptoms, but underlying mental health conditions often require professional support. 

Research shows that early intervention leads to better long-term outcomes.¹² So, seeking care sooner rather than later can prevent deeper emotional issues from forming. While California’s Digital Safety laws and social media usage focus on prevention, intervention remains just as crucial. In other words, creating safer online platforms matters. But so does ensuring timely access to care. 

Supporting Mental Health in a Digital Age

When we talk about state policy, digital safety, and psychological health, we want to know what steps we can take that could make a meaningful difference. Policy can create guardrails, but day-to-day support happens at home, in schools, and in relationships. 

Some steps to support mental health when we’re constantly connected online are:

• Setting consistent screen boundaries, especially before bedtime.
• Encouraging open conversations about online experiences.
• Teaching media literacy and critical thinking about algorithms.
• Prioritizing offline connection and physical activity.

Healthy digital engagement is not about removing technology entirely. It is about helping people use it with balance and insight.

Building Stability and Healing at AMFM Healthcare

As conversations around California’s digital safety laws and mental health protections continue, the reality is that safer online systems are important, but healing happens in real-world relationships and structured care.

That’s why at AMFM Healthcare, we provide personalized residential treatment for mental health challenges that focuses on you. Using evidence-based approaches, like CBT and DBT, alongside holistic methods, such as art and music therapy, we can help you rebuild a sense of connection, both online and offline.

With several locations across California, we’re here to support you. If you or someone you love is struggling with persistent distress in today’s always-connected world, reaching out to us can be the first step toward stability and long-term well-being.

FAQs About Digital Safety and Mental Health

If you suspect that the online world is affecting your mental health or that of someone you love, you might have some continuing questions about California’s new digital safety laws. We’ve provided the following answers to commonly asked questions to give you as much insight as possible. 

What Are California’s Digital Safety Laws?

California’s Digital Safety Laws focus on protecting young people online. The bills will help protect young people online by creating new safeguards for AI chatbots, requiring age verifications, and putting social media warning labels in place. These laws also provide guidance for cyberbullying and impose harsher punishments for deepfake pornography. 

Do California Digital Safety Laws Affect Mental Health?

Whether California’s Digital Safety Laws affect mental health is not yet known. The hope is that they will, but we will not know the impact they will have for quite some time, as they were just recently implemented. However, these regulations may reduce exposure to harmful or inappropriate content and promote healthier online behaviors. 

Over time, the mental health benefits of California’s online safety laws could include reduced digital stress and improved online safety awareness. But laws are one piece of the bigger mental health picture and do not eliminate mental health concerns on their own.

How Does California Regulate Harmful Online Content?

California regulates harmful online content by focusing on age assurance systems, platform transparency, and accountability measures. Certain laws require clearer disclosures about AI systems and encourage platforms to implement protections for younger users. These efforts start the conversation about how digital media can influence psychological health.

Can Reducing Screen Time Improve Mental Health?

Sometimes reducing screen time can improve mental health. For instance, limiting late-night screen use can improve sleep. Plus, reducing the amount of social media use can lower anxiety, depression, and social comparisons. 

What Are the Signs That Online Activity Is Affecting My Mental Health?

Some signs that online activity is affecting your mental health may include: 

• Feeling sad or angry, especially after being online for a long period of time.
• Withdrawal from friends, family, or social activities.
• Disrupted sleep patterns caused by screen use late at night.
• Heightened anxiety after using social media.
• Preoccupation with online validation or comparison.

Does AMFM Healthcare Support People Struggling with Digital Stress?

Yes, we help people deal with digital stress by using evidence-based care and assisting you with developing healthier routines and coping strategies. Our personalized and structured residential treatment program can also help you restore emotional balance and stability.

References

1. Faverio, M., & Sidoti, O. (2025, December 9). Teens, social media and AI chatbots 2025. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/12/09/teens-social-media-and-ai-chatbots-2025/
2. Fetterolf, J. (2025, September 8). Most adults across 24 countries are online at least several times a day. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/09/08/most-adults-across-24-countries-are-online-at-least-several-times-a-day/
3. Koh, G. K., Yun Ow Yong, J. Q., Yan Bin Lee, A. R., Yang Ong, B. S., Yau, C. E., Hui Ho, C. S., & Goh, Y. S. (2024). Social media use and its impact on adults’ mental health and well-being: A scoping review. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 21(4), 345-394. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12727
4. Riehm, K. E., Feder, K. A., Tormohlen, K. N., Crum, R. M., Young, A. S., Green, K. M., Pacek, L. R., La Flair, L. N., & Mojtabai, R. (2019). Associations between time spent using social media and internalizing and externalizing problems among US youth. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(12), 1266–1273. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2325
5. Vogels, E. (2022, December 15). Teens and cyberbullying 2022. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/
6. California Legislative Information. (2025, October 14). Bill text – AB-1043 Age verification signals: Software applications and online services. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1043
7. California Legislative Information. (2025, November 18). Today’s law as amended – SB-243 Companion chatbots. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB243&showamends=false
8. Kane, A. T., & Alikhani, M. (2025, December 23). What is California’s AI safety law? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-is-californias-ai-safety-law/
9. California Legislative Information. (2025, November 18). Today’s law as amended – AB-56 Social media: Warning labels. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB56&showamends=false
10. California Legislative Information. (2025, October 14). Bill text – AB-621 Deepfake pornography. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB621
11. California Legislative Information. (2025, October 13). Bill text – AB-772 Cyberbullying: Off-campus acts: Model policy. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB772
12. Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. (2024, July 18). The power of early intervention in mental health: A pathway to wellness and recovery. https://ppimhs.org/newspost/the-power-of-early-intervention-in-mental-health-a-pathway-to-wellness-and-recovery/