Episode

A bill that bans kids from using AI chatbots is gaining momentum

Podcast: Marketplace Tech
Published: May 4, 2026
Duration seconds: 446
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Canonical source: https://www.marketplace.org/episode/2026/05/04/a-bill-that-bans-kids-from-using-ai-chatbots-is-gaining-momentum
Audio: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/marketplace/tech_report/2026/05/04/tech_20260504_0504_MP_TECH_pod_128.mp3?awCollectionId=mkp-MKPtech&awEpisodeId=01KQJCZ32MWXEBTMMKFRSJQVCK
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Summary

The GUARD Act is a bipartisan bill that would prohibit companies from letting kids under 18 interact with what the legislation calls "AI companions,” which are chatbots designed to encourage the simulation of an interpersonal relationship. This comes after some harrowing stories of teenagers who developed relationships with chatbots and then harmed themselves or others. The bill just passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes talks about this with Ashley Gold, a senior tech policy reporter at Axios.