PRESS RELEASE: EPIC Applauds Introduction of Privacy-Centered Federal Chatbot Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last night, federal lawmakers introduced the People-First Chatbot Act, a clear framework to make chatbots safer for everyone and address the harms caused by AI chatbots that were rushed into the public’s hands with little oversight or transparency. EPIC applauds Reps. Valerie Foushee and Greg Casar for sponsoring this important bill. 

This legislation was crafted to ensure that the companies operating AI chatbots provide users with clear disclosures, material safeguards, and common-sense protections against deceptive and harmful practices. EPIC is proud to have created, in partnership with the Consumer Federation of America and Fairplay, the model bill on which this legislation was built. 

This bill reflects privacy principles that EPIC has long advocated, and it centers around a simple truth: Chatbots are products, not people. They’re created and released by companies that must be held accountable when their products harm people, just like a charger that starts a fire or faulty airbags that fail to deploy in a car crash. 

The People-First Chatbot Act: 

• addresses key data privacy violations present in almost all commercially available chatbots; 
• prohibits companies from using minors’ chat logs or personal data to train AI chatbots and from using adults’ input data for training without affirmative consent; 
• limits the use of users’ chat logs and personal data for harmful practices, including targeted advertising and manipulative companion-like features; 
• gives users the right to access and delete retained chat logs and personal data; 
• requires clear notice that chatbots are not human and disclosure when a company uses an AI chatbot for customer service, while giving consumers the right to request transfer to a human operator; 
• prohibits chatbots from representing that they can provide qualified medical, financial, or legal advice; 
• requires monthly assessments of AI chatbots for risks of covered harms, emotional dependence, and compulsive usage; 
• requires companies to disable harmful AI chatbot design features for minors; 
• prevents companies from providing law enforcement access to chat logs without a warrant; and 
• establishes strong user protections and enforcement by authorizing the FTC, State attorneys general, and individuals to enforce violations of this Act. 

EPIC has long urged lawmakers to adopt comprehensive safeguards for AI systems that affect individuals’ rights and privacy and will continue working with Congress and stakeholders to strengthen protections for users and promote trustworthy AI. 

“As the deployment of chatbots has already led to devastating harms, it is time for Congress to establish clear safeguards to rein in this technology,” EPIC Counsel Kara Williams said. “The People-First Chatbot Act tackles the root of the chatbot problem by protecting users from exploitative data practices and establishing a clear framework to hold companies accountable for the harms their products cause. EPIC applauds the bill sponsors for advancing strong legislation that centers privacy and civil rights by putting people—not tech companies—first.” 

Please contact [email protected] with requests for further comment.  

### 

ABOUT EPIC 

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) was established in 1994 to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age. Our mission is to secure the fundamental right to privacy in the digital age for all people through advocacy, research, and litigation.