WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT), member of the Senate Commerce Committee, along with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Committee Chairman; Brian Schatz (D-HI); and Adam Schiff (D-CA), introduced the Children’s Health, Advancement, Trust, Boundaries, and Oversight in Technology Act (CHATBOT Act). The bipartisan legislation would require AI companies to establish “family accounts” for parents to manage access and usage of AI chatbots by their children.
While AI chatbots can support a child’s learning, research, and creativity, they also pose real risks to minors, including exposure to inappropriate content, language, and addictive features. Some AI companies havze even deployed rewards, notifications, and targeted advertising to drive prolonged engagement by adolescent users. The Senators’ legislation would require AI chatbot companies to limit manipulative design features, require parental consent for chatbot usage and parental controls to access and monitor a child’s conversations with a chatbot, and prohibit targeted advertising to children. In addition, the bill would direct further study on potential chatbot-related harms to children and best practices for parents.
“Parents deserve both clarity and control over how their children interact with AI chatbots, which are becoming more integrated into their education and everyday lives,” said Senator Curtis. “Our bipartisan bill provides commonsense guardrails that prioritize kids’ safety, limit manipulative design, and help ensure that parents—not algorithms—hold the reins.”
“The rapid development of sophisticated chatbots has left many parents in the dark as powerful AI systems enter children’s lives,” said Chairman Cruz. “Congress has an opportunity to put parents back in control. With the right safeguards, AI systems can benefit a child’s education without putting their well-being at risk. The CHATBOT Act ensures America leads in deploying AI safely and responsibly.”
“AI is an incredibly powerful tool – it’s everywhere, and it poses real risks for kids,” said Senator Schatz. “We’ve seen reports of AI chatbots encouraging kids to hurt themselves and for some, they’re replacing real life relationships, isolating kids from their families and friends. Our bill will give parents better tools to keep their kids safe and hold AI companies accountable.”
“It is essential that we institute commonsense guardrails on the use of AI chatbots by children and teenagers that empower parents’ ability to protect their kids,” said Senator Schiff. “In California and across the country, we have seen firsthand the tragic consequences of quickly evolving AI chatbots which, in the worst cases, have encouraged self-harm, emotional dependency, violence, and exploitation of the youngest Americans. This moment demands action to protect children’s health and safety online, and I’m proud to join Senators Cruz, Schatz, and Curtis in introducing this bipartisan legislation as a first step towards that goal.”
The full text of the bill can be found here, and a one-pager can be found here.
The CHATBOT Act is supported by 3Strands Global Foundation, America First Policy Institute, Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), American Counseling Association, American Federation of Teachers, American Principles Project, Bull Moose Project, Citizens for Renewing America, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, David’s Legacy Foundation, Digital Progress Institute, Encode AI, Enough is Enough, HSA Coalition, Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking, NCOSE, Pearl at the Mailbox, Street Grace, and many others.