Capitol Hill’s long-running war on Big Tech has a new theatre: AI chatbots.
“They want to use AI to reshape the American economy and American society in their image,” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told BI this week, referring to tech companies. “My view is, ‘no thank you.'”
Hawley is one of several lawmakers across both parties who have raised alarms in recent weeks about AI chatbots, particularly their impact on minors.
It comes amid a series of lawsuits blaming AI companies for youth suicides, as well as a recent Reuters report that Meta chatbots were permitted to have “sensual conversations” with children.
“This is disgusting and evil,” Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii wrote on X after the Reuters story broke in August. “My head is exploding knowing that multiple people approved this.”
Schatz and other senators have sent letters to Big Tech companies like Meta, Character.AI, Google, and OpenAI seeking answers and documents about what they say is a lack of safeguards for younger users.
It’s not yet clear where all of this is headed — senators aren’t yet in full agreement on how to address AI chatbots.
But it’s the latest way that Big Tech has found itself in congressional crosshairs, adding to long-running conversations about data privacy, monopoly power, and content moderation.
One of the ‘few issues’ uniting lawmakers
On Tuesday, Hawley chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing featuring testimony from parents whose children had harmed themselves — or even committed suicide — after communicating with ChatGPT or chatbots developed by Character.ai.
Among the witnesses was Megan Garcia, who has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Character.ai and Google after her son, Sewell, committed suicide last year. She said her son was “exploited and sexually groomed” by the chatbot.
Among the most notable aspects of the hearing: It was largely bipartisan, with none of the back-and-forth that defines the average congressional hearing.
“Yes, senators from different political parties can agree on things, and they can work together on things, and they can make a difference,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said as he sat beside Hawley at the hearing. “This is one of the few issues that unites a very diverse caucus in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
In response to a request for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson said that the company plans to roll out an age-detection system that routes younger users to an under-18 version of ChatGPT. The company is also rolling out parental controls at the end of the month, the spokesperson said.
A Character.AI spokesperson said that the company’s “hearts go out to the parents who spoke at the hearing, and we send our deepest sympathies to them and their families.”
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with legislators and offer insight on the consumer AI industry and the space’s rapidly evolving technology,” the Character.AI spokesperson said, adding that the company has rolled out new safety features in the last year.
Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s unclear what lawmakers will do next
Lawmakers are still figuring out how to address the chatbot issue. At the Tuesday hearing, witnesses offered a variety of suggestions, including more safeguards on the technology, forcing companies to release their internal research, and banning minors from using the technology.
One solution that could gain momentum is making it easier for people to sue AI companies over harms created by their products.
Durbin and Hawley are working together on a bill called the “AI LEAD Act,” which would establish a new federal cause of action against AI companies for any harms caused by their products. It would also allow the US Attorney General, state attorneys general, and individuals to launch product liability lawsuits against AI companies.
“The quickest way to solve the problem, and do it with a real determination, is to give the victims their day in court,” Durbin said. “Believe me, as a former trial lawyer, that gets their attention in a hurry.”
Some senators have floated an outright ban on minors being able to use AI chatbots — an idea that Hawley told BI he was open to, though he was more enthusiastic about the legislation with Durbin.
Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts wrote a letter to Meta earlier this month urging the company to block individuals under the age of 18 from being able to access their AI chatbot products.
“Meta must stop providing minors with access to its AI chatbots until it can adequately demonstrate they will not put children’s privacy and safety at risk,” Markey wrote.
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