Bill moving quickly to regulate how AI chatbots interact with minors

Source Domain: komonews.com

Washington State is considering a bill to regulate AI interaction with minors, aiming to protect children from potential harm.
House Bill 2225 mandates that users must be informed if they are interacting with an AI bot rather than a human, initially and then every three hours.
Specifically for minors, this notification must occur at least once per hour.
The bill instructs chatbot operators to use measures that prevent AI from generating explicit content, mimicking romantic relationships, or encouraging minors to withhold information.
The bill has garnered broad bipartisan support but sparked concerns over the potential for businesses to collect excessive information about minors.
It has passed the House and the Senate committee, nearing approval by Governor Bob Ferguson, who supports the legislation.
Proponents argue the bill is critical to protecting children from sexual abuse and harmful content.
Despite support, some lawmakers fear the legislation may unjustifiably expose minors’ profiles to be studied and potentially misused.