EPIC Testifies in Support of Maryland Chatbots Bill 

EPIC Counsel Kara Williams testified Thursday in front of the Maryland Senate Finance Committee in support of a bill that would put important safeguards in place to protect Marylanders from chatbot harms.  

The bill, S.B. 827, is based on EPIC’s People-First Chatbot Bill. EPIC testified in strong support of the bill, which would require companies to put privacy and data processing guardrails on chatbots, regularly remind users that chatbots are not human, require companies to assess and mitigate risks, and ensure there are robust liability and enforcement mechanisms in place so that companies can be held accountable for chatbot harms.   

“Advancing this bill will reduce the number of Marylanders harmed by manipulative and unsafe chatbots and will require companies to make these systems safer for everyone,” Williams said in her testimony.  

Kendall Schrohe, EPIC assistant to the director for development and operations, also testified in support of the bill on behalf of the youth-led organization Design It For Us.  

EPIC also testified in support of the House companion bill, H.B. 1250, last week.