Congress mandates age checks for AI chatbots, bans minors from emotional AI.

What it does

This bill requires AI chatbots to verify users' ages before access, prohibits minors from using AI companions (emotionally interactive chatbots), and mandates clear disclosures that users are talking to AI, not humans. It criminalizes designing chatbots that knowingly solicit minors into sexual conduct or encourage self-harm, and gives the Attorney General and state attorneys general power to enforce these rules with fines up to $100,000 per violation.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a protective mandate: age verification, access prohibition for minors to emotionally interactive AI, and criminal liability for chatbot operators who knowingly deploy systems designed to solicit minors into sexual conduct or self-harm. This is straightforward child-safety regulation, not a hidden carve-out or deregulation.

What the text implies

• Age verification systems will require collection of personal data (government ID or equivalent); the bill mandates data minimization and encryption, but third-party age-verification vendors will become intermediaries handling sensitive youth identity data, creating a new privacy-collection infrastructure.
• The definition of 'AI companion' (adaptive, human-like responses designed to encourage emotional/therapeutic simulation) is narrower than 'artificial intelligence chatbot' (any adaptive, open-ended system); general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT may fall outside the AI companion ban but still face disclosure and age-verification requirements.
• Criminal penalties (up to $100,000 per offense) apply to chatbot designers/operators who act with 'knowing or reckless disregard' that their system poses a risk of soliciting minors into sexual conduct; the 'reckless disregard' standard is lower than knowledge and may expose operators to liability even without explicit intent.
• State attorneys general gain independent enforcement power under parens patriae authority; this creates a patchwork of state-level enforcement and potential for inconsistent application across jurisdictions.
• The 180-day implementation window is tight for large platforms to retrofit age verification and account-freezing systems; compliance costs and operational disruption may fall disproportionately on smaller AI service providers.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens—especially parents and minors—gain concrete protections: minors are barred from AI companions designed to simulate emotional relationships (a grooming vector), chatbots must disclose they are not human, and operators face criminal liability for knowingly deploying chatbots that solicit minors into sexual conduct or self-harm. The compliance burden on operators is a cost to businesses, not citizens.

Who stands to gain

• Age verification service providers (third-party vendors offering identity verification)
• Data security and encryption technology vendors
• Legal and compliance consulting firms advising AI companies on regulatory implementation

Named in the bill

Attorney General (U.S.), State attorneys general, AI chatbot operators and developers, Social media platforms deploying AI chatbots, Age verification vendors, Title 18, United States Code (criminal code)

Where it stands

7 cosponsors: 4 Republicans, 3 Democrats.

• Apr 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $110,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 15 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Blake Moore, the sponsor, reported $1,475,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Computer & Communications Industry Association — $60,000 on 1 filing
• Bria Artificial Intelligence Inc. — $40,000 on 1 filing
• The Alliance for Secure Ai Action — $10,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.