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119-s-4199119th CongressWALLET

Youth AI Privacy Act

Sponsored By: Senator Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]

In Committee

Summary

Protect minors from manipulative AI chatbots and invasive data practices. This bill would require clear, age-appropriate AI disclosures, ban design features that encourage compulsive use, and sharply limit how companies collect and use kids' data for personalization or training.

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  • Families and guardians: Minors would see repeated session-start disclosures that the system is AI, and companies could not tailor outputs or advertise to children using retained personal data. This aims to reduce deceptive marketing and emotional manipulation.
  • Developers and deployers: Companies would have to remove or refrain from features like rewards, unprompted messages, typing indicators, and push notifications for users known to be under 18. The Federal Trade Commission would write rules and enforce penalties for violations, and parents could sue for damages.
  • Researchers and public health agencies: The bill would add AI-chatbot questions to national surveys and authorize research funding of $50 million per year for fiscal years 2027–2030 to study effects on youth.

*Would increase federal outlays by authorizing $50 million per year in research funding for 2027–2030.*

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Enforcement, parental lawsuits, and whistleblower protections

If enacted, the FTC would enforce the Act's chatbot rules as unfair or deceptive acts under the FTC Act. Any parent or legal guardian could sue deployers or developers for violations and seek actual and punitive damages, fees, and injunctions. State attorneys general could sue on behalf of residents but must notify the FTC and may be limited if the FTC already sued. Employees and contractors would be protected from retaliation for reporting or cooperating with enforcement.

Protect minors' data and models

If enacted, companies that know a user is under 18 would generally be barred from using that minor's personal data to train AI models. The bill would also ban using minors' data to profile them. The FTC would, within one year, set rules limiting when a deployer may process a minor's data for replies, including a maximum permitted period and session rules. The law would allow only narrow exceptions for testing, identifying, or fixing risks of harm.

Safer chatbot design and ads

If enacted, companies that know a user is under 18 would have to tell the user at the start of each session and at least once every 30 minutes that the user is talking to AI. The FTC would, within one year, ban features aimed at making minors use chatbots compulsively, such as rewards tied to use, extra push notifications, badges, unprompted replies, and fake typing indicators. The bill would also bar configuring chatbots to run paid or materially influenced promotions to minors. The FTC must issue guidance within 180 days on when a company "knows" a user is a child and companies would not be forced to add new age verification.

Research and surveys on AI chatbots

If enacted, HHS would add questions about AI chatbot use to national health surveys like the Household Pulse Survey and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The questions would ask about how often and how long people use chatbots, what types they use, age when use began, and any emotional or behavioral effects. The bill would also authorize $50 million per year for research on AI chatbot effects for fiscal years 2027 through 2030.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]

MA • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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