People-First Chatbot Bill

The People-First Chatbot Bill gives lawmakers a straightforward approach to address the harms caused by chatbot products that have been developed and deployed by tech companies with little oversight or transparency. It does not outlaw chatbots; it provides a workable, clear framework to encourage the development of safer technology.  

The bill 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. 

This bill does not solve all chatbot harms—nor could any single bill—but it is a crucial step forward that would provide meaningful protections for all chatbot users. 

While children are particularly susceptible to the harms of AI, this proposal intentionally protects all users and is designed to cover all chatbots. As recent lawsuits show, chatbots can cause devastating harm for people of all ages, including both children and adults. That is why we are endeavoring to make them safer for everyone.

The bill addresses key data privacy violations present in almost all commercially available chatbots and sets clear limits on the use of users’ chat logs for harmful practices like targeted advertising, which Meta has already started doing. It restricts the use of personal data to significantly reduce the ability for chatbots to employ dangerous and manipulative companion-like features. It also requires clear notice that chatbots are not human and prohibits chatbots from representing they can provide qualified medical or legal advice. 

This model bill complements existing authorities, including laws on unfair and deceptive acts and practices, product liability, negligence, false advertising, privacy, copyright, and criminal laws and gives enforcers another tool to use to combat ongoing harms from chatbots.