Husted, Kim lead bipartisan bill to protect children from AI companion chatbots

“We need to protect children in the digital world the same way we do in the physical world.” WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) joined Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) in introducing the Children Harmed by AI Technology (CHAT) Act 2.0. This bipartisan bill builds off Husted’s previous CHAT Act , establishing a federal framework to protect minors from harms associated with companion artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots through a tiered, risk-based approach. The bipartisan CHAT Act 2.0 would also prohibit AI companion chatbots from engaging in harmful behaviors with minors, including encouraging self-harm, generating sexual content, impersonating humans or licensed professionals and engaging in emotionally manipulative or romantic interactions. “We need to protect children in the digital world the same way we do in the physical world. As AI becomes more advanced and more accessible, we have a responsibility to make sure these tools are not exposing children to dangerous, manipulative or inappropriate interactions. The CHAT Act 2.0 would put guardrails in place to keep parents informed, protect children from harm and ensure their safety comes before unchecked technology,” said Husted. “We all just want peace of mind that our kids will be okay growing up in this era of algorithms and AI. That’s why we need guardrails in place to keep up with ever-evolving technology like chatbots and make sure our kids’ safety, mental health, and well-being are always put first,” said Kim. The CHAT Act 2.0 would: Require age assurance and parental involvement, including parental controls and notification if a minor expresses suicidal ideation. Mandate clear disclosures that chatbots are not human, establish use limits and break reminders, implement crisis referral protocols and prohibit AI from providing crisis counseling to minors. Impose stronger safeguards on higher-risk systems, including limits on memory, professional supervision for therapeutic AI and pre-deployment risk assessments. Include strong data privacy protections and enforcement authority for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. Create a three-tier framework that applies appropriate safeguards based on a chatbot’s intended purpose: Educational chatbots, Companion chatbots, Health chatbots. In September 2025, Husted introduced the initial CHAT Act. The CHAT Act 2.0 is an updated version of this bill, which now includes a tier system that would allow different chatbots to adhere to varying restrictions based on the risk level they present. Additionally, it would address several industry concerns by not including customer service bots or video game-related bots in its definitions. It also includes data privacy protections that are in line with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Background: AI companion chatbots are computer programs designed to simulate human conversation, either through text or voice. Chatbots have prompted users to engage in self‑harm and exposed minors to adult content. In one Texas case, a Character.AI chatbot encouraged a teenager to kill his parents because they restricted his screen time. This bill builds on Husted’s work to protect kids online. In March 2026, Husted introduced Sammy’s Law . This bipartisan bill would empower parents to protect their children on social media platforms by providing them the right to know if their children are engaging in dangerous or risky interactions. In January 2026, Husted introduced the bipartisan No Fentanyl on Social Media Act. The bill would direct the FTC to report to Congress on minors’ access to fentanyl through social media, with recommendations to address this growing threat. In December 2025, Husted joined the Kids Online Safety Act to protect minors’ personal data on online platforms and implement safety tools for parents and minors to target any harmful online content for children. The full bill is available here .