By Miranda Nazzaro
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced a bill Thursday to ban minors from artificial intelligence companions and prevent AI chatbots from exposing children to sexual or harmful content.
The Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue (GUARD) Act, cosponsored by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), would prohibit AI companions for users under the age of 18 and require these systems to disclose their “non-human status and lack of professional credentials” for all users.
[ . . . ]Free speech and privacy groups also raised concerns about the bill.
“By mandating government ID or equivalent age verification for any American who wishes to interact with an AI chatbot, the bill burdens the speech and associational rights of every adult, not just minors,” said Ashkhen Kazaryan, senior legal fellow for The Future for Free Speech, a nonpartisan think tank.
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Ashkhen Kazaryan is a Senior Legal Fellow at The Future of Free Speech, where she leads initiatives to protect free expression and shape policies that uphold the First Amendment in the digital age.