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Senate committee amends and advances bill to curb AI chatbot harms to minors
Summary
The Senate Children and Families Committee passed SB 540 as amended, requiring clear disclosures for minors interacting with conversational AI, crisis redirection for self‑harm prompts, bans on addictive mechanics and grooming design, and stronger enforcement language; age‑verification and privacy implementation remain open issues.
The state Senate Children and Families Committee on an unspecified date voted to pass Senate Bill 540 (LC560634S) as amended, a measure that seeks to limit harms from conversational AI when used by minors.
Sponsor remarks and bill overview Senator Anabataarte, the bill sponsor, told the committee that artificial intelligence chatbots can be valuable but pose risks for young people, and said the bill is designed to protect children while allowing responsible innovation. "A child should never be tricked into thinking a machine is a friend," the sponsor said, and described provisions that would require clear disclosures to minors, route prompts about self‑harm to crisis resources, and bar features intended to create compulsive use.
What the bill would…
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