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119-s-4407119th CongressWALLET

CHATBOT Act

Sponsored By: Senator Cruz, Ted [R-TX]

In Committee

Summary

Gives parents strong control over children's access to AI chatbots and forces companies to protect kids' data and be transparent. This bill would require family accounts, parental consent for teen accounts, immediate deletion of child data on account termination, and clear labels that chatbot outputs are AI.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Limits on children's chatbot data

If enacted, companies would have to show a clear label that the chatbot and its outputs are AI until the user exits or dismisses it. Companies would delete all personal data when a child or teen account is terminated and, for 90 days after termination, must provide a readable, portable copy of that data if technically feasible. Companies could not use personal data they know comes from children or teens for targeted advertising; they may show ads based only on age or use contextual advertising. Any age‑verification data collected could only be used to comply with the law and kept only as long as needed. These rules would take effect one year after enactment.

Parental controls and monitoring

If enacted, family accounts would let parents set time limits and turn off rewards, notifications, payments, and unprompted chatbot replies. Parents could set how long a chatbot keeps a child's conversation memory (by number of inputs or time) and require the system to reset after that limit. Family accounts would provide full chat records, tools to review them, and customized alerts if a child tries to bypass controls. Companies would also need an easy way for parents and teens to report parental-control problems. These rules would take effect one year after enactment.

Enforcement and state preemption

If enacted, the Federal Trade Commission would enforce the Act under its unfair or deceptive practices authority and use its normal powers and penalties. State attorneys general could sue on behalf of residents but must notify the FTC and generally cannot sue while the FTC has a pending action; the FTC may intervene. The Act would preempt state laws only where they conflict, but states could still pass stronger protections for children. These provisions would take effect one year after enactment.

Parental accounts and teen consent

If enacted, covered chatbot companies would require family accounts for children under 13 and would notify parents and get verifiable consent before teens (ages 13–17) make accounts. Parents who gave consent could later revoke it and the company would have to suspend, delete, or disable the teen's account. On the law's effective date, companies would have to end existing child accounts without family accounts and teen accounts without parental consent. These rules would take effect one year after enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Cruz, Ted [R-TX]

TX • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]

    HI • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT]

    UT • R

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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