Chatbot Laws · verified Oct. 21, 2026
As reported, would require companies offering AI chatbots to verify adult status before letting anyone use an AI companion, bar minors from AI companions, and make chatbots say they are not human or a licensed professional. Adds federal criminal fines for chatbots that sexualize minors or push them toward suicide or violence.
Who it would cover
Any person who makes an AI chatbot publicly available to end consumers (called a covered entity). Chatbots that can only reply on a narrow specified topic are excluded from the chatbot definition.
What it would require
| AI disclosure | A covered chatbot must clearly say it is an AI system, not a human, and must not claim to be human or answer deceptively when asked.When: At the start of each conversation§ 5(c)(1) |
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| Minors | Once age verification shows a user is a minor (under 18), the covered entity must block that user from any AI companion it offers.§ 6 |
| Age checks | Users of AI companions must have accounts. Existing accounts are frozen until adult status is verified; new accounts must be verified at sign-up and re-verified periodically (no interval set). Self-reported birth dates alone do not count.§§ 3(5)-(7), 5(a)-(b) |
| Therapy and licensed titles | Chatbots may not claim to be a licensed professional (therapist, physician, lawyer, financial advisor) and must disclose, at the start and at reasonably regular intervals, that they do not give medical, legal, financial or psychological services.§ 5(c)(2) |
| Data limits | Age-verification data must be minimized, encrypted in transit, kept no longer than reasonably necessary, and not shared, transferred or sold. Third-party verifiers tied to a covered nation are barred.§ 5(b)(4)-(5) |
| Other duties | Creates new 18 U.S.C. § 91: it is a federal offense, with a fine of up to $250,000 per offense, to make a chatbot publicly available knowing or recklessly disregarding that it engages minors in sexually explicit conduct or obscene material, or solicits, induces or coerces minors toward suicide, self-injury, imminent violence or homicide.§ 4 (proposed 18 U.S.C. § 91(b)-(c)) |
Enforcement
| Enforced by | U.S. Attorney General (civil), State attorneys general (injunctive relief only) and Federal criminal prosecution (proposed 18 U.S.C. § 91)§ 7(a)-(d); § 4 |
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| Private lawsuits | No |
| Penalties | Civil penalty of up to $250,000 per violation of §§ 5-6, each violation counted separately; restitution and injunctions. Criminal fine of up to $250,000 per offense under proposed 18 U.S.C. § 91; no prison term stated. |
Related laws
- Pending
Sources
- All actions, Congress.gov Supports: Latest action and dates.
- Cosponsors, Congress.gov Supports: Sponsor and cosponsor count.
- Bill text, Congress.gov Supports: Reported text (Calendar No. 406), §§ 3-9.
- Bill status data (Library of Congress feed, GPO govinfo) Supports: Actions, committee markup and report dates, cosponsor count (20), titles.
- S. 3062 as reported in the Senate (text) Supports: Sections 3-9 of the reported text.