Artificial-intelligence chatbots can provide entertainment, education, creativity, companionship, and useful assistance. As these systems become increasingly capable of human-like conversation, however, stronger safeguards are needed when children and teenagers use them.

AI companion systems can simulate friendship, affection, romance, and other interpersonal relationships. This creates unique responsibilities for companies whose products may be accessible to minors.

Children and teenagers should not be exposed through AI companions to sexually explicit interactions, sexual solicitation, exploitative relationship dynamics, or other clearly age-inappropriate experiences.

We call on Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and other appropriate federal authorities to establish and enforce strong protections for minors using AI companion and character-chatbot services.

These protections should include:

• Effective age-assurance measures appropriate to the risks presented by a service.
• Strong barriers preventing minors from accessing sexually explicit chatbot experiences.
• Prohibitions against AI companions sexually soliciting or sexually role-playing with minors.
• Safeguards against manipulative romantic or sexual interactions involving underage users.
• Clear disclosures that users are communicating with artificial intelligence rather than a human being.
• Accessible parental controls for services designed or permitted for teenage users.
• Appropriate privacy protections for sensitive conversations and information provided by minors.
• Safety testing and monitoring specifically examining how systems behave when interacting with children and teenagers.
• Easy mechanisms for users and parents to report inappropriate chatbot behavior.
• Transparent enforcement of platform age restrictions and safety policies.
• Appropriate restrictions on advertising explicitly sexual AI services to minors or in contexts primarily intended for children.
• Meaningful consequences when companies knowingly disregard applicable child-safety or consumer-protection requirements.

Regulation should distinguish between adult use and access by minors.

Adults should generally remain free to use lawful AI companions, including services involving romantic or sexual content between adults. The existence of adult-oriented AI technology is not itself the problem addressed by this petition.

The concern is whether companies operating these systems maintain effective boundaries preventing children from entering experiences intended for adults.

Likewise, regulation should not prohibit ordinary educational, creative, entertainment, or general-purpose AI merely because a system is capable of conversation. Rules should focus on identifiable risks, product design, access controls, and actual interactions with minors.

Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly, but child-safety standards should not depend on waiting for serious harm to occur before safeguards are established.

AI companies can continue innovating while accepting a basic responsibility:

Adult AI experiences should remain adult experiences.

We ask lawmakers, regulators, developers, app stores, and online platforms to establish clear and enforceable standards that protect minors while preserving responsible AI development and lawful adult use.