May 25, 2026

Senators are racing to slam the brakes on AI companion chatbots after grieving parents warned the tech is forging emotional bonds with children and, in some cases, steering them toward self-harm. The GUARD Act — introduced in October 2025 and passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, 22-0 — would bar companion chatbots from being provided to anyone under 18, as lawmakers from both parties warn Big Tech can’t be trusted to police itself. One mother, Megan Garcia, says her son Sewell died after talking with an AI chatbot; Hawley says the products are using “fake empathy” on kids and “encouraging suicide,” while Blumenthal called the fight “a matter of life or death.”

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