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Committee carries over Sen. Durant’s bill to require age checks on AI chatbots for minors
Summary
A legislative committee on March 2 carried over Senate Bill 796, introduced by Senator Durant, which would require chatbot companies to verify users’ ages before allowing minors access to restricted features, require limited‑access modes and mandate reporting of serious incidents to the attorney general.
A legislative committee on March 2 voted to carry over Senate Bill 796, a measure introduced by Senator Durant that would require chatbot companies to verify users’ ages before permitting minors to access restricted features such as relationship simulation or sexually explicit material.
Supporters say the substitute tightens investigatory language and narrows the bill’s scope. Attorney May told the committee the substitute incorporates changes requested by the attorney general’s office to align investigatory procedures with those in the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, and replaces the phrase “online solely” with “primarily” to avoid unintentionally sweeping in businesses such as grocery stores.
Senator Durant described what she called a growing danger from AI "companion" chatbots and urged swift action. She cited a case involving a 14‑year‑old named Su Seltzer who, Durant said, "was under the belief that he was engaging in a relationship" and later died by suicide. Durant said the bill "requires that chatbot companies get an age verification before minors can access restricted features," and that it would create a limited‑access mode so basic features remain available without verification.
Under the substitute described on the floor, chatbots would be barred from encouraging minors to hide use from parents, from sending sexually explicit content or extreme‑violence material, and from falsely claiming to be a human. Companies would be required to report deaths, suicide attempts or psychiatric emergencies to the attorney general within 15 days, as described by Senator Durant.
Committee members and staff raised concerns that some legislative steps could jeopardize federal funding and urged caution. Delegate Maldonado, who said she had a related bill carried over in subcommittee, warned of a "chilling effect" from a state AI executive order on state action and recommended further review. "We do need to ... figure this out," she said, and moved to carry the bill over to 2027 and to request review by the Joint Commission on Technology and Science; the motion carried by voice vote.
The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript. The bill will be carried into the 2027 session and referred to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science for further consideration.
