Chatbot Laws · verified Oct. 21, 2026
As approved by Senate Commerce, would require AI chatbot services to put known children under 13 on parent-run family accounts, get verifiable parental consent for teens, set the most protective defaults, give parents controls and child chat records, make reasonable efforts to stop chatbots from aiding a minor's suicide or showing obscene material, refer at-risk minors to crisis help, and ban targeted ads to minors.
Who it would cover
Public-facing websites, online services and apps that provide an AI chatbot (covered entities), as to users they know are under 18. Scripted bots and narrow-purpose bots (customer service, shopping help, business operations, productivity, technical help, search) and closed educational or clinical tools are outside the chatbot definition.
What it would require
| AI disclosure | A transparency label saying the chatbot is AI and not a person, shown at regular intervals and including a reminder to take a break. It is a parental control that must default to its most protective setting; parents set the interval.When: At regular intervals set through parental controls§ 2(14); § 5(a)(1)(F), (c)(1) |
|---|---|
| Minors | Known children (under 13) must use an account linked to a parent's family account; known teens (13-17) need parental notice and verifiable parental consent, and without a family account their settings are fixed at the most protective default. Parents can limit time, rewards, notifications, purchases, unprompted outputs and chatbot memory, and see a child's conversation records. Noncompliant existing minor accounts are suspended and terminated after 180 days.§§ 3-5 |
| Age checks | Duties apply to users the entity knows (actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied) are minors; no age verification or new age-data collection is required, and data collected to comply may be used only for compliance.§ 2(6); § 7 |
| Crisis protocol | Covered entities must make reasonable efforts to prevent chatbots from materially helping a minor take or plan to take their own life. When a minor asks for such help, the entity must refer the minor to crisis resources including the 988 Lifeline, tell the parent if the minor is on a family account (with a record for a child), and publish its process.§ 8(a)-(c) (as amended by Kim amendment 1) |
| Design limits | Reasonable efforts required to keep chatbots from providing material that is obscene for minors to a minor.§ 8(a)(2) |
| Data limits | No targeted advertising using personal data of a known child or teen; ads based only on age are allowed. Data of terminated minor accounts must be deleted, with a 90-day window to get a copy.§ 6; § 3(d) |
| Other duties | NSF study on chatbots and children's relationships and social needs (report within 2 years) and a GAO report on the Act's effectiveness. Takes effect 1 year after enactment.§§ 9-10, 14 |
Enforcement
| Enforced by | Federal Trade Commission and State attorneys general (parens patriae)§ 11 |
|---|---|
| Private lawsuits | No |
| Penalties | Treated as a violation of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive practices; FTC Act penalties apply. State AGs may seek injunctions, damages or restitution. No separate dollar amount. |
Sources
- All actions, Congress.gov Supports: Latest action and dates.
- Cosponsors, Congress.gov Supports: Sponsor and cosponsor count.
- Bill text, Congress.gov Supports: Introduced text.
- Cruz-Schatz-Curtis substitute (as modified again), Senate Commerce Committee Supports: Committee-approved text, §§ 2-14.
- Kim amendment 1 (as modified), Senate Commerce Committee Supports: Crisis referral and publication duties, § 8(b)-(c).
- Kim amendment 2 (as modified), Senate Commerce Committee Supports: Transparency label definition, § 2(14).
- Senate Commerce Committee release, Aug 5, 2026 Supports: Voice vote and amendments adopted.
- Executive Session 24, Senate Commerce Committee Supports: Bill was on the Aug 5, 2026 markup agenda.