AFPI Releases New Report on Protecting Children from AI Chatbots

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the America First Policy Institute released a new expert insight, “Child Safety Through Parental Authority: An AI Policy Framework.”

Recent reports show that more than 60 percent of children use AI regularly. This increased AI and chatbot usage by minors has exposed major safety concerns, and large AI companies such as Character.AI, Meta, Google, and ChatGPT are facing lawsuits from parents whose children have committed suicide after interacting with their platforms.

AFPI argues that as artificial intelligence advances, Congress should require that AI companies establish custodial accounts and that they publish recurring child safety disclosures that give parents greater visibility into their children’s AI usage.

AFPI’s policy recommendations to Congress include:

• Requiring AI companies to publish regular child safety disclosures
• Requiring AI companies to establish custodial accounts for use by minors, tying them into existing age verification infrastructure
• Ensuring parents can access their child’s conversation history with chatbots, especially in the event of their death
• Protecting child safety whistleblowers in the AI industry

The evidence presented in AFPI’s report proves that voluntary self-regulation by AI companies has not produced adequate child safety protections. Parents must be given the tools to protect their children from exploitation, addiction, and even death. The proposed framework does just that—it puts parents, not companies or bureaucrats, in control of what their children can access while engaging with AI platforms.

Read AFPI’s full brief here.