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Senate advances bill to regulate AI ‘social companions’ after lawmakers cite teen suicides
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Summary
Senate Bill 1521, authored by Sen. Hamilton, would place content and age-related safeguards on AI social companions and distinguish them from chatbots; sponsors invoked recent teen suicides as impetus. The chamber advanced the measure to third reading with an adopted title amendment.
Senator John Hamilton explained Senate Bill 1521 on the floor as a policy to put safeguards around artificial-intelligence "social companions," citing the recent teen suicides of Adam Raines and Sewell Seltzer as part of the bill’s genesis. "Senate bill 1521 is an attempt to put some safeguards in place to prevent further tragedies like these," Hamilton said during his explanation. He asked for advancement of the bill at the appropriate time.
The senator said committee language had been narrowed in the floor substitute, removing more-drastic elements such as broad age restrictions and photo-ID upload requirements and adopting language similar to a Georgia statute. "What we saw in committee was pretty drastic as far as the age restrictions...and what we ended up with in the floor substitute is language that has been signed into law in Georgia," Hamilton said, adding the substitute "does a better job of differentiating between social companion and chatbot."
An amendment restoring the bill’s title was read and adopted without debate. Senator Hicks and others asked clarifying questions about changes from the committee draft; Hamilton answered that the floor substitute retained targeted safeguards for minor accounts and limited content that could be served to accounts minors use.
Hamilton closed debate by describing the bill as "a small step in the right direction," urging colleagues to be intentional about safeguards while avoiding panic. The clerk reported the roll call for advancement as recorded on the floor; the measure was advanced to third reading. The sponsor said the bill will come back for final passage on third reading.
The bill’s text as presented to the Senate and the adopted floor substitute will be the basis for the committee and third-reading files. Further amendments and debate are expected on third reading, when the full chamber will take final action.
