California Legislature Passes 26 AI and Social Media Bills, Sending Them to Governor's Desk

My take: In less than a week, California's legislature passed 26 bills related to artificial intelligence and social media. They are now on Governor Newsom's desk, and he has until September 30 to decide which ones to sign and which ones to veto.

The areas they cover are concrete and directly affect the workplace: two bills limit the use of automation in disciplinary and termination decisions, and require companies to disclose when a mass layoff is caused by AI. Others target protections for minors on social media, new transparency requirements for high-impact AI systems, and specific regulation for AI auditors.

If you own a business or lead HR in California, now is the time to review how you are documenting the use of AI tools in your personnel processes. Are your internal policies ready for what is coming?