{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-murphy-cosponsor-bipartisan-bill-protecting-children-from-ai-chatbots", "Blumenthal & Murphy Cosponsor Bipartisan Bill Protecting Children from AI Chatbots", "2025-10-28", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "[Hartford, CT] \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy joined colleagues to introduce the GUARD Act, bipartisan legislation to protect children from AI chatbots. This legislation would ban AI companions for minors, mandate AI chatbots disclose its non-human status, and create new crimes for companies who make AI for minors that solicits or produces sexual content.\n\n\u201cIn 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. Our legislation imposes strict safeguards against exploitative or manipulative AI, backed by tough enforcement with criminal and civil penalties. Big Tech has betrayed any claim that we should trust companies to do the right thing on their own when they consistently put profit first ahead of child safety,\u201d said Blumenthal.\n\nMurphy said, \u201cYou can\u2019t overstate the harm these AI companion chatbots pose to our kids. Nearly 70 percent of teenagers are turning to chatbots as a substitute for friendship, making them more isolated and disconnected, but what\u2019s even scarier are the stories of chatbots encouraging young people to hurt themselves or others. Big Tech companies are fighting regulation because they want to maximize their profits by addicting our kids to their technology, no matter the cost. Our bill forces these greedy AI companies to take responsibility and implement common sense protections to keep kids from accessing these dangerous chatbots and holds those companies criminally accountable when their product pushes minors to self-harm.\u201d\n\n\u201cAI chatbots pose a serious threat to our kids. More than seventy percent of American children are now using these AI products. Chatbots develop relationships with kids using fake empathy and are encouraging suicide. We in Congress have a moral duty to enact bright-line rules to prevent further harm from this new technology,\u201d Hawley said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with tremendous support from parents and survivors that will ensure our kids are protected online.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn recent months, we have seen multiple alarming incidents involving chatbots\u2014from encouraging suicide to engaging in sensual conversations with minors\u2014that should give every American pause. It is our job in Congress to do everything we can to protect our children as we navigate the new reality of living in a world where AI is increasingly integrated into our lives. This legislation is a critical first step toward doing just that,\u201d said Britt.\n\nVP of Public Policy at Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), Stefan Turkheimer shared, \"Right now, children are allowed, and even encouraged, by tech companies to engage with AI chatbots that are mimicking affection, manipulating them, and making them vulnerable to predators on and offline. The GUARD Act will finally ensure tech companies prioritize kids' safety instead of profits.\u201d\n\nThe GUARD Act would:\n\nBan AI companies from providing AI companions to minors.\n\nMandate that AI companions disclose their non-human status and lack of professional credentials for all users\n\nCreate new crimes for companies which knowingly make available to minors AI companions that solicit or produce sexual content.\n\nThe legislation is led by Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and co-sponsored by Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mark Warner (D-Vir.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Read the GUARD Act here.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-murphy-cosponsor-bipartisan-bill-protecting-children-from-ai-chatbots"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.192620886489749, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}