Youth AI Privacy Act

Key Points

• Companies must clearly tell minors they are talking to AI, not a real person. This disclosure must appear at the start of every session and repeat at least every 30 minutes, helping prevent kids from forming emotional bonds with chatbots or oversharing personal information.
• The bill bans addictive design features in AI chatbots used by minors, including typing bubbles that mimic human conversation, push notifications, and digital rewards or badges tied to how much time kids spend chatting. The FTC would write the specific rules within one year.
• AI companies would be banned from showing ads to minors through chatbots, using kids' data to build personality profiles, or transferring minors' personal data to train AI models. Limited exceptions exist for safety testing and addressing risks of harm.
• Parents and legal guardians gain the right to sue AI companies that violate these protections, with the ability to recover actual damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. State attorneys general and the FTC can also bring enforcement actions.
• The bill authorizes $50 million per year from 2027 through 2030 for research into how AI chatbots affect the mental health and development of young people, and requires adding AI chatbot questions to national health surveys like the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.