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HR7218119th CongressWALLET

CHAT Act

Sponsored By: Representative Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]

Introduced

Summary

Bold: age verification and parental safeguards for companion AI chatbots. This bill would set rules for chatbots that act like companions, requiring age checks, parental controls, safety monitoring, and clear user disclosures that the bot is not a human.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

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

New safety and account rules for minors

If enacted, the bill would require people to create user accounts before using a companion chatbot. New accounts would need age information verified with a commercial method. Accounts that already exist on the law's start date would be frozen until the user provides verifiable age proof and is classified as a minor or adult. For minors, accounts must be linked to a verified parental account, get verifiable parental consent, and block chatbots that engage in sexually explicit communication. Covered chatbots would have to show a clear popup at the start and at least every 60 minutes that the user is not speaking with a human. They would also monitor for suicidal ideation and, if detected, show the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and notify the parental account for minors. The law would limit collection and storage of age-verification data to what is strictly necessary.

FTC enforcement and safe harbor

If enacted, the bill would let the Federal Trade Commission enforce the rules using its unfair-or-deceptive authority. The Commission would have to issue compliance guidance within 180 days after enactment. The bill would create a safe harbor for covered entities that (1) rely in good faith on user-provided age information, (2) follow the Commission's guidance, and (3) reasonably conform to industry or Commission age-verification standards. State attorneys general could still sue for harms on behalf of residents, but they must notify the Commission and the Commission may intervene. The whole Act would begin one year after enactment.

Which chatbots and providers are covered

If enacted, the bill would define a "companion AI chatbot" as software whose main purpose is to simulate friendship, companionship, or therapeutic talk. It would exclude customer-service bots, simple game-related bots, and basic voice assistants that do not build ongoing emotional relationships. The bill would also say a "covered entity" is any person who owns, operates, or makes such a chatbot available to people in the United States. These definitions would decide which systems and providers must follow the law.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]

NY • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Barrett, Tom [R-MI-7]

    MI • R

    Sponsored 10/5/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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