Photo of Bianca Nalaschi

Bianca Nalaschi

Subscribe to Bianca Nalaschi's Posts

Bianca brings extensive experience in data privacy, cybersecurity, and litigation. She develops incident response strategies tailored to unique client objectives, coordinates with third-party experts to determine the nature and scope of cybersecurity events, and counsels clients on compliance with state, federal, international, and contractual legal obligations. Bianca has represented clients in third-party liability actions, from pre-suit through case resolution.

Contact:Read more about Bianca Nalaschi
AI_chatbot_1200x600_GettyImages-2022766813

Key point: Businesses operating companion chatbots in California or New York are subject to new legal obligations, including providing notices to users and ensuring protocols are in place to prevent self-harm.

On January 1, 2026, California’s companion chatbot law (SB 243) took effect after being signed into law on October 13, 2025 by Governor Gavin Newsom. The law imposes certain obligations on companion chatbot operators to implement “critical, reasonable, and attainable” safeguards surrounding the use of and interaction with “companion chatbots” with a focus on protecting minors. SB 243 follows New York’s AI Companion Models statute, N.Y. Gen. Business Law § 1700, et seq., a similar companion chatbot bill that went into effect November 5, 2025.

Data-Breach_1200x600_GettyImages-2210246405

Key Point: California’s existing breach notification statute was amended to include more decisive guidelines for reporting to individuals and regulators.

On October 5, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB-446 into law, which bill sponsor Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-CA) indicates is aimed at “closing a critical loophole” in California’s existing breach notification statute. Below, we first provide a brief background on the scope of the law and then discuss the amendment.