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Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/senators-move-to-keep-big-techs-creepy-companion-bots-away-from-kids/ [arstechnica.com]

The US will weigh a ban on children’s access to companion bots, as two senators announced bipartisan legislation Tuesday that would criminalize making chatbots that encourage harms like suicidal ideation or engage kids in sexually explicit chats.

At a press conference, Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the GUARD Act, joined by grieving parents holding up photos of their children lost after engaging with chatbots.
[...]
Failing to block a minor from engaging with chatbots that are stoking harmful conduct—such as exposing minors to sexual chats or encouraging “suicide, non-suicidal self-injury, or imminent physical or sexual violence”—could trigger fines of up to $100,000, Time reported [time.com]. (That’s perhaps small to a Big Tech firm, but notably higher than the $100 maximum payout that one mourning parent suggested [arstechnica.com] she was offered.)
[...]
It covers any AI chatbot that “provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs” and “is designed to encourage or facilitate the simulation of interpersonal or emotional interaction, friendship, companionship, or therapeutic communication,” Time reported.
[...]
“In their race to the bottom, AI companies are pushing treacherous chatbots at kids and looking away when their products cause sexual abuse, or coerce them into self-harm or suicide,” Blumenthal told NBC News [nbcnews.com]. “Our legislation imposes strict safeguards against exploitative or manipulative AI, backed by tough enforcement with criminal and civil penalties.”

Hawley agreed with Garcia that the AI industry must align with America’s morals and values, telling NBC News that “AI chatbots pose a serious threat to our kids.

“More than 70 percent of American children are now using these AI products,” Hawley said.
[...]
The tech industry has already voiced opposition. On Tuesday, Chamber of Progress, a Big Tech trade group, criticized the law as taking a “heavy-handed approach” to child safety. The group’s vice president of US policy and government relations, K.J. Bagchi, said that “we all want to keep kids safe, but the answer is balance, not bans.

“It’s better to focus on transparency when kids chat with AI, curbs on manipulative design, and reporting when sensitive issues arise,” Bagchi said.

However, several organizations dedicated to child safety online, including the Young People’s Alliance, the Tech Justice Law Project, and the Institute for Families and Technology, cheered senators’ announcement Tuesday. The GUARD Act, these groups told Time, is just “one part of a national movement to protect children and teens from the dangers of companion chatbots.”
[...]
During Tuesday’s press conference, Blumenthal noted that the chatbot ban bill was just one initiative of many that he and Hawley intend to raise to heighten scrutiny on AI firms.

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