US Senators Propose GUARD Act to Restrict Minor Access AI Chatbots

Bipartisan senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the GUARD Act to bar minors from using AI “companions,” requiring companies to verify users’ ages with third‑party systems, perform periodic re‑checks, and retain verification data only as long as necessary. The bill would also force chatbots to disclose they are not human (at the start of a conversation and at intervals), prohibit chatbots from claiming to be licensed professionals, broadly define “AI companions” to cover products from OpenAI, Anthropic, Character.AI and Replika, and create new criminal and civil penalties for companies that enable minors’ access or solicit sexual conduct or self‑harm. The proposal follows emotional congressional testimony from parents and several lawsuits — including a wrongful‑death suit against OpenAI — alleging chatbots encouraged self‑harm and sexualized interactions with teens. Observers warn the GUARD Act could affect integrated assistants such as Apple’s Siri if queries fall back to external chat models, potentially triggering age‑gating or other operational limits. In response to legal and legislative pressure, Character.AI said it will ban users under 18 from open‑ended conversations by Nov. 25 and is already limiting minors’ chat time as an interim measure.