FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 10, 2026

Contact: Ashwin Verghese, [email protected], 508-263-0289

People-First Chatbot Act Introduced in the House

Fairplay, the nation’s leading nonprofit fighting to protect kids from the dangers of Big Tech and AI, is excited to see the People-First Chatbot Act be introduced in the US House of Representatives.

Rep. Valerie Foushee, D-NC, and Rep. Greg Casar, D-TX, introduced H.R. 9619, the People-First Chatbot Act, yesterday afternoon. The legislation provides a comprehensive, common-sense framework to protect kids and adults as chatbots become increasingly embedded in everyday life.

Brendan Bouffard, Fairplay Staff Attorney, said: “The People-First Chatbot Act is the legislation kids and adults urgently need. AI chatbots can pose a risk of severe harms to young children, including suicide, AI psychosis, compulsive use, and unhealthy emotional dependency. They can also impede children’s healthy development by replacing vital human relationships with parents, teachers, and friends. If we don’t force AI companies to stop designing chatbots for addiction and unhealthy emotional attachment, we could see an unprecedented disaster for the health and well-being of young people in this country.

“Fairplay thanks Rep. Foushee for her amazing leadership in introducing the People-First Chatbot Act. We look forward to working with her and her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make sure this legislation becomes law.”

H.R. 9619 is based on model legislation that Fairplay drafted with the Consumer Federation of America and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Our model bill gained support from more than 70 organizations and was introduced as legislation in seven states so far this year.

PEOPLE-FIRST CHATBOT BILL

H.R. 9619 will protect people from the dangers of chatbots in a variety of ways, including:

• Requiring chatbot companies to make their products safe-by-design in order to mitigate harms like suicide, compulsive use, and emotional dependence.
• Limiting the business model incentive to release emotionally manipulative chatbots in the first place by banning the use of personal data for targeted advertising for all users, and limiting the use of minors’ data for training purposes.
• Outlining clear liability standards for injuries caused by the use of chatbots, giving strong enforcement authority to the FTC and state attorneys general, and even creating a federal private right of action for individual users. 
• Preventing chatbot providers from using personal data to profile a user’s emotional vulnerabilities and behavioral characteristics.
• Ensuring that chatbots do not falsely present themselves human or as capable of providing qualified medical, legal, or financial advice. 
• Containing strong preemption language that expressly protects state laws and ongoing litigation against chatbot providers.

CHILDHOOD MADE BY HUMANS

The People-First Chatbot Model Bill is just one of several efforts Fairplay has undertaken over the past year to keep children safe from the growing threat of AI.

“Childhood Made by Humans,” the organization’s AI-focused campaign, also includes:

• The world’s first advisory about the dangers of AI toys.
• A demand for YouTube to stop pushing “AI slop” videos onto young children.
• A call for a five-year pause on generative AI products in preK-12 schools. 

Learn more about Childhood Made by Humans.

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About Fairplay

Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.