Exclusive: Hawley circulating draft AI chatbot bill
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Sen. Josh Hawley on Sept. 16, 2025. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is circulating a draft bill that would ban AI companions for minors, according to a document obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Hawley is turning up the heat on AI chatbot companions after a hearing featuring parents of children who harmed themselves after talking to AI chatbots and as similar bills across the country gain momentum.
Driving the news: The draft bill, called the Guidelines for User Verification and Responsible Dialogue (GUARD) Act, would mandate that AI companions tell users they aren't human.
- The bill would also aim to create "new crimes for companies which knowingly make available to minors AI companions that solicit or produce sexual content," per the memo.
- Hawley wants the bill to be bipartisan and bicameral, and he's reaching out to coalition groups and Senate offices with the hope of introducing the bill within a few weeks, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.
What they're saying: The thinking is that policy solutions that focus specifically on harm to children can go the distance, the source told Axios.
- The source said that Hawley's office will take feedback from outside groups and roll out the bill shortly after that.
The big picture: AI companies are increasingly under pressure to have protections for minors using their chatbots, even as the White House and Republican-led Congress have been supportive of AI development.
- Children's online safety has been a rare topic of agreement for Republicans and Democrats, and one of First Lady Melania Trump's projects.
- California now has a new AI chatbots law that will require operators to notify minors the chatbot is not human.
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