First Partner Siebel Newsom, Governor Newsom, and #HalfTheStory launch California's first Teen Tech Council

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Aug 11, 2026

First Partner Siebel Newsom, Governor Newsom, and #HalfTheStory launch California's first Teen Tech Council

What you need to know: First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Governor Gavin Newsom's California Innovation Council, and #HalfTheStory are bringing California teens to the table to inform state decisions about technology, AI, and digital wellness.

SACRAMENTO – First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and #HalfTheStory, a non-profit dedicated to improving the next generation's relationship with technology, announced the launch of the first-ever California Teen Tech Council, giving young people an opportunity to weigh in on state decisions about technology, AI, and digital wellness.

The Teen Tech Council is an outcome of Governor Newsom's California Innovation Council and reflects a simple idea: instead of viewing young people only as technology users to be protected, we should empower them as contributors to the future of technology. As the nation's most innovative economy, California is modeling responsible innovation by giving teens a meaningful seat at the table.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, #HalfTheStory Founder and Executive Director Larz May, state leaders, and California teens launch the first-ever California Teen Tech Council.

As a mom, I know that every new technology brings both incredible opportunities and important questions about how it will shape our kids' lives. California has always led the way in innovation, and our young people should be at the forefront of that work. The new California Teen Tech Council will give the Golden State's young people a seat at the table, ensuring their voices, experiences, and ideas help shape the technologies that will define their future.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

I established the California Innovation Council to bring together the expertise and perspectives of stakeholders to help us shape the future of technology, not just react to it. Our young people have the most at stake, as the technology and policies we develop today will shape the world they inherit tomorrow. California is leading the nation on AI and technology policy. And with the voice of our next generation, we'll continue building a future that is safer, stronger, and more innovative for all.

Governor Gavin Newsom

"My vision is to make sure that, at this turning point in humanity and AI, teens help shape their future rather than simply inherit it," said Larz May, Founder and Executive Director, #HalfTheStory. "The future of democracy depends on getting the next generation engaged, and technology is the entry point. Real success at the national, state, and local level depends on turning fear into hope, apathy into action, and young people into leaders. I'm deeply grateful to California's First Partner and Governor Newsom for recognizing the importance of bringing teens to the table."

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, #HalfTheStory, and members of the California Innovation Council convened 20 California teens representing over 10 unique school districts for the inaugural California Teen Tech Council roundtable in Sacramento. The roundtable put teens at the table with California state leaders, including Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Johnson, Cabinet Secretary Nani Coloretti, and members of the California Innovation Council, to discuss AI safety and deepfake imagery, generative AI use in the classroom, AI literacy, and the importance of preserving human connection in today's digital world.

This convening is the first step in a model that directly empowers teens to be at the table when it comes to decision-making around new technology, giving young people the tools, trust, and platform to help shape the systems that affect their lives at the local level. This fall, in partnership with #HalfTheStory, California will recruit teens statewide for the inaugural California Teen Tech Council through screen-free events hosted with community partners, creating an entry point for young people who care about digital wellness and the future of technology. In spring 2027, those teens will be trained through civics and digital wellness leadership programming to become advocates, advisors, and community builders equipped to understand AI, shape healthier digital ecosystems, and lead projects that directly improve the wellness of teens in their own communities.

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A proven model

California is the second flagship state to adopt the Teen Tech Council, serving as the blueprint for national scale. In 2025, #HalfTheStory launched the first Teen Tech Council in New York in partnership with Secretary Hillary Clinton and Governor Kathy Hochul. The New York Teen Tech Council successfully trained more than 70 youth leaders across 13 regions in New York state, from Buffalo to the Bronx, and reached more than 17,000 students during the last school year.

Leading responsible innovation in the Golden State

Last December, Governor Newsom launched the California Innovation Council, which leverages the collective knowledge of the nation's top tech policy experts to help California develop and strengthen its technology policy. Through four working groups, the Council tackles issues ranging from empowering workers to countering tech fraud to protecting children online. The First Partner leads the Protecting Child Online Safety and Countering Image-Based Abuse working group, which includes councilmember and #HalfTheStory Founder Larz May, linking the Teen Tech Council directly to the state's broader work on responsible technology.

The other working groups target statewide efforts in different areas impacted by evolving technology including:
  • Countering Tech Fraud (led by the Business and Consumer Services Agency)
  • Modernizing Government Service Delivery (led by the Government Operations Agency, including the California Department of Technology and the Office of Data and Innovation)
  • Technology, Economic Development, and Workforce (led by the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency)

A commitment to children's online safety

California has long been a leader in protecting children from the danger of emerging technology. Starting this school year (2026-27), the Phone-Free School Act, which Governor Newsom signed in 2024, requires every school district, charter school and county office of education to develop a policy limiting the use of smartphones. Last fall, Governor Newsom signed landmark legislation strengthening protections for children online and adding safeguards for emerging technologies, including age verification, protocols to address suicide and self-harm, warnings regarding social media and companion chatbots, and stronger penalties for those who profit from illegal deepfakes.

Birthplace of modern tech

California is home to 33 of the top 50 private AI companies in the world, and no state has taken more aggressive action to strengthen the safety, security, and consumer privacy of technology and online platforms.

In 2023, Governor Newsom made California the first state to take action on Generative AI policy, announcing an executive order to both responsibly adopt this technology in state government and begin studying its risks. The Governor convened world-leading academic experts to draft the California Report on Frontier AI Policy, providing the state with policy recommendations that helped lead to the Governor's signature on the first state legislation nationwide, the Transparency in Frontier Technology Act (Senate Bill 53, Wiener) to help ensure that this technology moves forward responsibly. The law has since been replicated and modeled in similar laws adopted in other states.

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In addition, it supplements the Governor's March 2026 executive order, which strengthened civil rights and privacy in California's procurement of AI technology and expanded California's adoption of AI to improve government services.

How to get involved

Apply now to join the California Teen Tech Council, or nominate a star student to help shape the future.

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