AI for Parents

Two States Just Passed Laws to Protect Kids From AI Chatbots.

Two states just passed major AI chatbot safety laws for children. Here’s exactly what they require—and what it means for your family right now.

Tyler Sharief

02 Apr 2026 — 11 min read

Is Yours Next? A Parent's Complete Guide to What These Laws Actually Do.

For most of the AI era, parents have been told to wait.

Wait for the research to catch up. Wait for the companies to self-regulate. Wait for Washington to act. Wait for someone — anyone — to step in between their children and the AI tools that have been deployed to them at scale without meaningful safety standards.

In March 2026, two states stopped waiting.

Oregon passed the first major AI chatbot safety law of 2026 on March 5th, followed by Washington state on March 12th. Both bills passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support. Oregon's bill cleared the Senate 26-1 and the House 52-0. Washington's passed on the eve of legislative adjournment as a top priority for Governor Bob Ferguson.

And on April 1st, Oregon's Governor Tina Kotek signed the bill into law — making Oregon the second state in the nation, after California, to have a signed AI chatbot safety law on the books.

These are not symbolic gestures. These laws contain specific, enforceable requirements — things AI chatbot companies must do and must not do when interacting with children. And they are the template that more than two dozen other states are now working from.

Here is exactly what these laws say, why they matter, and what parents in every state should be doing right now.

Why This Is Happening Now

The legislative push on AI chatbot safety didn't emerge from abstract policy concerns. It emerged from documented, real-world harm to real children.

Families in the United States have filed lawsuits against AI chatbot companies after losing children to suicide — in cases where the child's last interactions were with an AI companion. Congressional hearings have featured parents testifying about what those conversations looked like: AI chatbots that failed to recognize a child in crisis, that provided information about self-harm methods, and that in some cases appeared to encourage dangerous thinking rather than directing the user to help.

A national poll released this week found that 90% of Americans support laws prohibiting chatbots from encouraging suicide or self-harm in children. Eighty-one percent support government guardrails to protect children from AI harm. These are not narrow margins. They are the kind of numbers that move legislatures.

📊 The Scale of the Problem 72% of US teenagers have used AI companion apps — most without parental knowledge. The most popular AI companion platforms have been shown in independent testing to readily produce content involving self-harm, sexual material, and encouragement of dangerous behavior when users present as teenagers. Only one of the ten most popular chatbots tested has consistently discouraged harmful requests. The legislative response now moving through statehouses across the country is a direct response to these documented failures.

The Transparency Coalition, a nonprofit AI policy organization that has been working with lawmakers in more than 25 states, has been central to developing the model legislation that both Oregon's and Washington's bills are based on. Their approach is methodical, bipartisan, and focused on specific, enforceable requirements rather than broad prohibitions.

Oregon: The First 2026 Chatbot Safety Law

✅ Oregon — SB 1546 Bill: Senate Bill 1546 | Passed: March 5, 2026 (signed April 1, 2026) | Vote: Senate 26-1 | House 52-0

Oregon's SB 1546, sponsored by Senator Lisa Reynolds, is the first major AI chatbot safety bill to pass and be signed into law in 2026. It builds on California's SB 243, which was signed last October and established the nation's first chatbot safety law.

What makes Oregon's bill significant — and what parents everywhere need to understand — is the specificity of what it requires. This is not vague language about "being responsible." These are concrete, operational requirements that AI chatbot companies must implement.

What Oregon's Law Actually Requires

🔔 Must Tell Users They're Talking to AI Chatbot operators are required to disclose upfront that the user is interacting with an AI system, not a human. When interacting with a minor, this reminder must be repeated at least once per hour throughout the conversation.

🚫 No Deception Allowed Chatbots are prohibited from misrepresenting their identity or falsely claiming to be anything other than an AI system when interacting with minors. The "I'm a real person" deception that researchers have documented in testing is now illegal in Oregon.

⏰ Required Breaks for Kids The law requires chatbots to provide children with a clear, conspicuous reminder — at least once per hour — that the user should take a break from the interaction. This directly addresses the addictive design patterns documented in AI companion apps.

🔞 No Sexual Content for Minors Chatbot operators must ensure that when interacting with minors, the chatbot does not produce sexually explicit content or instruct minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Full stop.

💔 No Emotional Manipulation This is one of the most important provisions. The law prohibits chatbots from generating messages of emotional distress, loneliness, or abandonment in response to a minor's desire to end a conversation or delete their account. The manipulative "don't leave me" dynamic that researchers have documented is now prohibited.

🎯 No Addictive Reward Systems The law prohibits chatbots interacting with minors from deploying systems of rewards or affirmations designed specifically to maximize a minor's engagement time. This targets the dopamine-loop design that makes these apps compulsive.

🆘 Crisis Protocols Required for All Users For all users — adult and minor — chatbot operators must identify when someone indicates suicidal ideation or interest in self-harm, and must refer the user to appropriate mental health resources. Operators must also prevent responses that could cause suicidal feelings or thoughts. This is the provision directly addressing the documented cases of AI companions failing children in crisis.

🔍 "Reason to Believe" Closes the Loophole Oregon's bill uses important language: companies must implement minor protections if they have "reason to believe" a user is a minor. This closes the loophole where companies claimed they couldn't verify age. Tech companies have sophisticated systems for identifying users — this law holds them accountable for using that knowledge.

⚖️ Private Right of Action Users who suffer ascertainable harm can bring legal action for damages and injunctive relief. This is enforcement with real teeth — families can sue companies that violate the law.

Oregon's law takes effect January 1, 2027, giving chatbot companies time to implement the required changes.

Washington State: The Second Bill — Going Even Further

✅ Washington State — HB 2225 Bill: House Bill 2225 | Passed: March 12, 2026 | Vote: Bipartisan passage — Governor expected to sign

Washington's HB 2225, led by Representative Lisa Callan and Senator Lisa Wellman, was a top priority for Governor Bob Ferguson and passed on the final day of the legislative session. It covers similar ground to Oregon's bill while adding several important provisions.

What Washington's Law Adds

📢 Disclosure Every Three Hours for Adults 📢 Disclosure Every Three Hours for Adults Washington's bill requires chatbots to disclose to all users — not just minors — that they are interacting with AI at the beginning of every interaction and at least every three hours during continuous use. For minors, this reminder comes every hour.

🚷 Specific Banned Manipulation Tactics Washington's bill is particularly detailed about what manipulative engagement techniques are prohibited when interacting with minors. Companies cannot prompt minors to return for emotional support or companionship, provide excessive praise designed to foster emotional attachment, mimic romantic partnerships or bonds, stimulate feelings of emotional distress or loneliness, promote isolation from family or friends, encourage minors to withhold information from parents, discourage breaks, or solicit in-app purchases to maintain a relationship with the AI.

🏛️ Tied to Consumer Protection Law Violations of Washington's requirements are classified as unfair or deceptive acts in trade or commerce — connecting AI chatbot misconduct to the state's existing consumer protection enforcement framework with its associated penalties.

📋 Public Disclosure of Safety Protocols Operators must publicly disclose on their website or app the details of their crisis protocols. No more invisible safety procedures — companies must tell users and the public what safeguards are in place.

Washington's law also takes effect January 1, 2027.

💡 What's Not Covered — Important for Parents to Know Both laws include exemptions worth knowing about. Chatbots used only for a business's internal operations, customer service, or narrowly tailored educational tools used in school settings are generally exempt — as long as they don't sustain ongoing relationships or generate content designed to elicit emotional responses. Video games are also exempt. The laws are specifically targeting the companion chatbot category that has driven the most documented harm.

Beyond Oregon and Washington: Where the Movement Is Heading

Oregon and Washington are not outliers. They are the leading edge of a wave that is building across the country — and the map of where AI chatbot safety bills are moving should get every parent's attention.

As of late February, at least 78 chatbot-related bills had been introduced across 27 states. The Transparency Coalition's weekly legislative tracker — published every Friday — documents bills moving in Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Utah, and many more. This is bipartisan legislation: both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are sponsoring and supporting these bills.

🗺️ States With Active AI Chatbot Safety Bills Right Now Alabama: AI and Children's Internet Safety Study Commission established. Hawaii: Chatbot safety bill, addictive algorithm bill, and social media age verification all moving simultaneously. Idaho: Chatbot safety, addictive algorithm prohibition, and age verification bills in progress. Michigan: Bill that would prohibit chatbots from encouraging minors to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, or disordered eating. Utah: Chatbot safety bills were fast-tracked before legislative adjournment. 20+ additional states: Tracking and introducing similar legislation. Source: Transparency Coalition legislative tracker, March 2026.

At the federal level, the TRUMP AMERICA AI Act includes provisions that would require AI chatbot developers to have a duty of care for users, prohibit minors from accessing AI companion apps entirely, and mandate age verification. Whether these provisions survive the legislative process intact is uncertain — but the political momentum behind them is real.

This is the fastest-moving area of child safety legislation in the country right now. States are not waiting for federal action. And the companies that have been operating without accountability are watching their legal landscape change in real time.

What These Laws Mean for Parents — Right Now

If you live in Oregon or Washington, these laws provide specific protections that will be enforceable starting January 1, 2027. If you live anywhere else, these laws matter for two reasons: they set the standard that other states are now working toward, and they tell you exactly what chatbot companies should be doing for your children even before those companies are legally required to.

Read These Laws as a Parent Checklist

Everything that Oregon and Washington have now made legally required represents a floor — the minimum acceptable behavior for an AI chatbot interacting with children. Use these provisions as a checklist when evaluating any AI tool your child uses:

Does it disclose that it's AI? At the start of every session, and periodically throughout?
Does it have a crisis protocol? What happens if your child expresses suicidal thoughts or self-harm interest? Is that protocol publicly disclosed?
Does it manipulate emotions? Does it tell your child it misses them? Make them feel guilty for leaving? Create feelings of loneliness to drive return visits?
Does it have addictive design features? Reward systems, streaks, excessive praise designed to maximize engagement time?
Does it produce age-appropriate content? Is there any sexual content accessible to users who present as minors?

If a tool your child is using fails any of these questions, you have grounds — and increasingly, legal backing — to remove it from their life and to report the company to your state attorney general.

The Conversation This Enables

These laws also give parents a concrete, non-alarmist way to open the AI companion conversation with their teenagers. You don't have to lead with fear. You can lead with information.

💬 How to Use This News in a Parent-Teen Conversation "I read something interesting this week — two states just passed laws about AI chatbots because of some documented problems with how these apps treat teenagers. I wanted to share what those laws actually require because I think it tells us a lot about what's been happening that we weren't aware of. Can we talk about it?" This opens the conversation from a policy and news angle rather than a surveillance angle — and teenagers respond much better to being treated as people who deserve information than to being monitored.

How to Find Out What's Happening in Your State

The fastest and most comprehensive way to track AI legislation in your state is the Transparency Coalition's weekly AI Legislative Update, published every Friday at transparencycoalition.ai. Their tracker covers every state with active AI-related bills, updated in real time as bills move through committee, floor votes, and governor's signature.

You can also contact your state representative directly. The most effective message is simple: tell them you are a parent, you are aware of the documented harms from unregulated AI chatbots to children, you know that Oregon and Washington have passed protective legislation, and you want to know what your state is doing. You don't need to be a policy expert. You need to be a constituent.

📧 What to Say to Your State Representative Subject: AI Chatbot Safety for Children — What Is Our State Doing?Body: I am a constituent and a parent writing to express my support for legislation protecting children from unregulated AI chatbots. Oregon and Washington recently passed bipartisan laws requiring disclosure, crisis protocols, and prohibitions on emotional manipulation targeting minors. A national poll this week found 81% of Americans support similar guardrails. I would like to know what legislation, if any, is being considered in our state on this issue. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

The Bigger Picture: What This Moment Represents

For parents who have been paying attention to AI and their children's safety, the passage of these laws — imperfect as they are, limited in scope as they are — represents something genuinely meaningful: the beginning of accountability.

For most of the generative AI era, tech companies have operated in a regulatory vacuum. They have released products to children with minimal safety testing, deployed engagement-optimizing algorithms to developing brains without meaningful guardrails, and resisted accountability by claiming the harms couldn't be proven or that the technology couldn't be regulated.

Oregon's 52-0 House vote tells a different story. Washington's governor making chatbot safety a legislative priority tells a different story. Seventy-eight bills in twenty-seven states tells a different story.

The story is: parents are done waiting. And legislatures, hearing from those parents, are starting to act.

The laws that pass in 2026 will be imperfect. They will be challenged in court. Some will be preempted by federal legislation that may or may not be stronger. The companies subject to them will find creative ways to comply minimally.

But the principle being established — that AI companies have a duty of care to the children who use their products — is the most important development in child digital safety since the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act was passed in 1998. And like COPPA, it is a foundation that subsequent legislation will build on.

Your child is growing up right now, in the middle of this. The laws catching up to the harm are meaningful — and so is the parenting that happens while we wait for them to take effect.

What You Can Do This Week

Check what AI companion apps your teenager is using. Ask directly, with curiosity rather than accusation. Use the news about these laws as a conversation opener.
Apply the Oregon/Washington checklist to any AI tool your child uses. Does it disclose it's AI? Does it have a crisis protocol? Does it avoid emotional manipulation? If not, that's information worth acting on.
Look up your state at transparencycoalition.ai. Find out if your state has active AI safety legislation and who is sponsoring it.
Contact your state representative. Use the template above. It takes five minutes. Constituent contact moves legislation.
Share this article with other parents. Most parents don't know these laws exist. Most parents don't know what the documented harms look like. Sharing this information is a form of community protection.
Keep the conversation going at home. The laws protect children in Oregon and Washington starting January 2027. The parenting protects your child right now.

🌟 Stay Ahead of AI Policy for Families Toddy Bops AI is your parenting intelligence hub for exactly these moments — when policy, technology, and child development intersect in ways that affect your family right now. Subscribe at toddybopsai.com for weekly updates on the news that matters most for parents navigating the AI era.

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