Chatbot Laws · verified Oct. 21, 2026
Would require chatbots likely to be used by minors to run, for minors, in a non-personified default setting in which the chatbot says it is AI and does not claim to be human, have feelings, be a licensed professional, or act as a friend or romantic partner. Parents would control the setting; the FTC and state attorneys general would enforce.
Who it would cover
Developers that design, train, fine-tune or substantially modify a chatbot offered to consumers when they know or reasonably should know minors will use it, and providers that make a chatbot available to end users and control accounts, access or settings. Narrow-purpose tools (such as customer service or scheduling bots) and enterprise-only tools are not chatbots. Providers that bar minors and meet set conditions (including suspending a known minor within 48 hours) are exempt from provider duties.
What it would require
| AI disclosure | In the non-personified default setting the chatbot must identify itself as AI and not a human.When: At the start of each session, periodically during extended interactions (interval left to NIST guidance), and when asked§ 3(7)(A); § 2(h)(3)(G) |
|---|---|
| Minors | Developers may not offer a chatbot they know or should know minors will use unless it supports a non-personified default that is on from first use for anyone not reasonably determined to be an adult and cannot be switched off for them. Providers must apply that default to known or likely minors and keep account and parental-controls frameworks; only a parent or guardian, or an authorized educator for school-managed accounts, may change the setting.§ 2(a)-(b), (e); § 3(12) |
| Age checks | No specific age verification or estimation method is required, but developers and providers must weigh age information they already hold (account age, age stated in chats, marketing age attributions, age checks done for other laws) when deciding whether a user is likely a minor.§ 2(k)(1); § 3(5) |
| Design limits | In the default setting the chatbot may not claim feelings, consciousness or a life outside chats; simulate friendship, romance or family ties or encourage emotional reliance; prompt users to return for companionship; use guilt or urgency to prolong use; or seek payments framed as keeping a relationship. Developers and providers may not nudge minors, including through training or dark patterns, to turn the setting off or misstate their age.§ 3(7)(B)-(C); § 2(d) |
| Therapy and licensed titles | In the default setting the chatbot may not present itself as a licensed or credentialed professional.§ 3(7)(B)(i) |
| Other duties | NIST, with the FTC, would issue voluntary technical guidance (interim within 6 months, final within 18 months of enactment); material conformity bars civil penalties. Safe harbors also cover providers that use a compliant developer's setting without material change and developers whose contracts bar providers from serving minors.§ 2(f)-(h); § 2(i)(3)(C)-(D) |
Enforcement
| Enforced by | Federal Trade Commission and State attorneys general (parens patriae)§ 2(i)-(j) |
|---|---|
| Private lawsuits | No |
| Penalties | Violations are treated as violations of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive practices, so FTC Act penalties apply; no separate dollar amount. For providers each affected minor is a separate violation; for developers each chatbot or version is a separate violation per provider deployment. States may seek injunctions, damages and restitution. |
| Cure period | After written FTC notice, 30 days to remediate; each later day of noncompliance is a separate violation per affected minor. |
Sources
- H.R. 10719 as introduced (text), GPO govinfo Supports: Titles, sponsor and cosponsors, §§ 1-3.
- Bill status data (Library of Congress feed, GPO govinfo) Supports: Introduction and referral Oct 1, 2026; sponsor and 3 original cosponsors; latest action.
- H.R. 10719 details page, GPO govinfo Supports: Introduced version.