States tighten rules on AI companions

Rhode Island lawmakers are moving to put age checks, parental consent and default safety settings between minors and a fast-growing class of chatbots built to feel like relationships. (biometricupdate.com) The package spans six bills, and one of them, House Bill 7953, would require social media companies to verify the age of Rhode Island users starting January 1, 2027. Another measure in the package would apply child-safety rules to artificial intelligence systems used by minors. (biometricupdate.com, webserver.rilegislature.gov) Rhode Island’s House Committee on Innovation, Internet, and Technology scheduled hearings on several of the bills for April 8, 2026. Supporters including Family Service of Rhode Island said the measures would require parental consent and add safeguards for young users, while business groups said the restrictions go too far. (rilegislature.gov, rilegislature.gov, rilegislature.gov) The state push comes as lawmakers are starting to define “artificial intelligence companions” as something narrower than a general chatbot. Oregon’s Senate Bill 1546 describes them as systems designed to simulate a sustained, human-like platonic, intimate or romantic relationship, using memory from past interactions to keep users engaged. (olis.oregonlegislature.gov) Oregon has already enacted that law, and it takes effect on January 1, 2027. The statute requires operators to tell users they are interacting with artificial intelligence and bars some practices aimed at minors, including using a companion to advertise age-restricted products or to encourage harmful behavior. (jdsupra.com, olis.oregonlegislature.gov) Washington is on a similar track. House Bill 2225 passed the House 69-28 on February 17, 2026, passed the Senate 43-5 on March 6, 2026, and would require companion chatbot operators to notify users they are talking to artificial intelligence and to add protections for minors and for users expressing self-harm. (lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov, lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov, app.leg.wa.gov) The policy fight is moving faster because these products are marketed less like search boxes and more like always-on confidants. A recent commentary said that constant availability can make artificial intelligence companions feel supportive while also blurring what children learn about reciprocity, limits and disagreement in human relationships. (theconversation.com) Recent reporting and surveys show teenagers are already experimenting with those systems in personal ways. A 2025 survey cited by The Conversation found that about 1 in 5 high school students said they or someone they knew had had a romantic relationship with an artificial intelligence companion. (theconversation.com, chron.com) Critics of the new state bills are not only defending the companies. Testimony filed in Rhode Island said mandatory age checks could expand surveillance, require families to upload identification, and cut off young people who use online spaces for community and support. (rilegislature.gov, rilegislature.gov) What happens next is mostly procedural. Rhode Island’s bills are still moving through committee, while Oregon’s law is headed for its January 1, 2027 start date and Washington’s proposal has already cleared both chambers, giving states an early role in setting rules for chatbots that are designed to act like companions. (biometricupdate.com, jdsupra.com, app.leg.wa.gov)