What happened
Senators Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Jon Husted (R-OH) introduced the bipartisan Children Harmed by AI Technology (CHAT) Act 2.0 on approximately July 29-30, 2026 — an updated version of Husted's original CHAT Act from September 2025. The bill would prohibit AI companion chatbots from engaging in certain harmful interactions with minors, including encouraging self-harm, generating sexual content, and impersonating humans, and introduces a tiered compliance system with age verification and parental controls.
Why it matters
Reflects growing bipartisan federal legislative momentum on AI companion/chatbot safety for minors, an area currently governed only by a patchwork of state laws and FTC 6(b) inquiries; if enacted would create the first federal statutory restriction specific to AI companion products.
Action needed
No binding compliance obligation yet — bill has only been introduced; deployers of AI companion/chatbot products should monitor for committee action and potential federal preemption implications for existing state-level companion-chatbot laws.