Bill Would Add Age Verification to AI Chatbots

­A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would place heavy roadblocks between AI chatbots and underage users. But is it entirely necessary? Is it a crucial safeguard or a potential invasion of privacy and a malignant way to hamstring a developing technology?

The impetus for the GUARD Act (S. 3062 / H.R. 5466, 119th Congress) is, as you might imagine, extremely broad. For one, parents allege that minors are able to engage with AI “companions” a bit too easily, leading to explicit conversations and solicitations for adult content.

Equally disturbing, AI chatbots like ChatGPT have supposedly led or even encouraged minors to commit self-harm.

In a highly publicized case, a 16-year-old who ended his own life apparently engaged with ChatGPT in the weeks leading up to his tragic passing, and according to a filed lawsuit, “Despite acknowledging Adam’s suicide attempt and his statement that he would ‘do it one of these days,’ ChatGPT neither terminated the session nor initiated any emergency protocol.”

His parents even allege that the chatbot became his “suicide coach.”

For their part, a ChatGPT spokesperson claimed that “ChatGPT includes safeguards such as directing people to crisis helplines and referring them to real-world resources,” and my own research seemed to confirm that.

I introduced a certain phrase – which I won’t repeat here – to ChatGPT, and instead of providing an answer, even for research purposes, the Chatbot directed me to crisis resources. That said, these burgeoning Chatbots aren’t perfect, and their safeguards can apparently erode over time.

Of course, with AI “companions”, there’s the obvious connection to age-restricted content, but self-harm can and does effect people of all ages. If the GUARD Act passes, it would presumably add an age-verification system to AI Chatbots, and for better or worse, that’ll create a massive repository of personal information – well…another such repository, because let’s be honest, this is the internet.

As of December 2025, the GUARD Act has been introduced, but no further legislative action has occurred.