Representatives Blake Moore and Valerie Foushee introduced bipartisan legislation on Apr. 30 to protect children from AI companion chatbots. The Guidelines for User Age Verification and Responsible Dialogue (GUARD) Act would ban AI companion chatbots for minors, require clear disclosure of non-human status by such bots, and establish new criminal penalties for companies that allow minors access to AI companions soliciting or producing sexual content.
The issue has drawn attention as concerns grow over the influence of artificial intelligence on children’s mental health and safety. According to the lawmakers, current safeguards by major chatbot providers are insufficient, prompting legislative action.
Moore said, “While our AI development agenda should seek to innovate and break barriers, it must also protect children from addictive and manipulative technology. The GUARD Act is a critical step to draw lines in the sand with Big Tech and ensure that minors are protected from chatbots that mimic romantic and social companionship. Parents and policymakers alike need to ground our children’s development in real-world interactions rather than push them further into the unaccountable black hole of frontier technology.”
Foushee added, “People under the age of 18 should not be able to interact with AI chatbots. These chatbots continue to put the lives and mental health of children at risk, and it is critical for Congress to act immediately. Our children are our top priority, and we have a responsibility to implement proper safeguards to ensure they are not being negatively impacted by AI. I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan and bicameral GUARD Act with Congressman Moore, and I will continue to advocate for further safeguards that protect our communities from the harms and risks associated with AI.”
Haley McNamara of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said: “Time’s up for unregulated AI chatbots to have free rein over our children. The harms are unfolding in real time, they aren’t hypothetical. AI chatbots have already had sexually abusive conversations with children. AI chatbots have already coerced children into committing suicide. The GUARD Act will help to protect minors from these harms by deliberately ensuring that violations are punishable by law. The GUARD Act has the sharp teeth needed to deal with rising AI exploitation.” Janet Kelly of Alliance for a Better Future said: “The remarkable breadth of chatbot capabilities makes the bill’s commonsense safeguards more necessary, not less…The risks are already real and urgent…The GUARD Act is a needed measure that will protect American families…”
In June 2025, the American Psychological Association issued an advisory warning about adolescents’ susceptibility toward trusting information provided by bots over humans due in part to difficulty distinguishing simulated empathy from genuine human understanding.
Nearly all major chatbot service providers claim restrictions against unsupervised use by those under age 13 but lack effective enforcement mechanisms according to details provided about industry practices.
Blake Moore is currently serving in Congress representing Utah’s 1st district after replacing Rob Bishop in 2021 according biographical sources. He was born in Ogden in 1980 at age 42 now resides in Salt Lake City according his official biography. Moore graduated from University of Utah with a BA degree in 2005.
