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Senate advances Colorado bill to curb chatbot harms to minors after survivor testimony; amendments require cessation of explicit exchanges
Summary
The Senate adopted major floor amendments to House Bill 12-63, requiring disclosure and safety steps for conversational AI and adding a provision that chatbots must stop engaging in explicit sexual conduct with minors, a change prompted by family testimony.
Colorado lawmakers on May 8 advanced House Bill 12-63, a package of requirements for operators of conversational artificial-intelligence services, adopting floor amendments that tighten protections for minors after a survivor family’s testimony was read to the chamber.
Sponsors described the legislation as baseline consumer and child‑safety protections: operators must disclose that users are interacting with AI, follow evidence-based protocols when users express suicidal ideation, and implement privacy controls for minors. "Operators must clearly and conspicuously disclose that individuals are interacting with artificial intelligence," a sponsor said on the floor while urging an aye vote.
The chamber debated several technical and enforcement amendments, including language about what constitutes "technically feasible" protective measures and whether civil enforcement should include private rights of action. Lawmakers adopted Amendment L-32, drafted after family testimony, to require operators to implement protocols that prohibit chatbots from engaging in explicit sexual conduct with minors and to stop such interactions immediately. The amendment was presented to the body as the requested change from the family whose written testimony was read in committee.
Supporters emphasized the bill sets a national-leading baseline for protecting children from predatory chatbot behavior, citing specific accounts used during committee testimony. Opponents and some members urged caution about vague definitions and enforcement standards; they pressed for clearer, enforceable technical standards and for robust rulemaking procedures for the attorney general.
After adopting the safety amendment and a technical corrections amendment, the Senate adopted the bill on second reading and ordered it to third reading. Sponsors said the measure is a necessary first step to protect minors and give regulators and courts tools to hold operators accountable.
Next steps: The bill will proceed toward final passage; adopted amendments instruct operators to implement protocols that terminate explicit exchanges with minors and to provide crisis referrals when a user expresses self-harm.
