Youth AI Privacy Act
Youth Artificial Intelligence Privacy Act
Federal bill that would require AI chatbot deployers to disclose AI status to known minors at session start and at least every 30 minutes, prohibit compulsive-use design features, restrict personalization beyond the current session, ban covert advertising in AI outputs, and prohibit profiling minors via AI chatbots.
Jurisdiction
United States
Enacted
Pending
Effective
TBD
Enforcement
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Introduced in Senate on March 25, 2026 (S. 4199, 119th Congress). Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. No hearing scheduled as of May 2026.
Congress.gov - S. 4199 Introduced VersionWhy It Matters
If enacted, would establish a federal floor for minor-protection requirements on AI chatbots that goes beyond existing state disclosure laws by directly regulating dark-pattern design (compulsive-use features, anthropomorphism cues). The session-bounded restriction on personal data processing is structurally similar to but stricter than COPPA in scope, focusing on chatbot behavioral data rather than just collection.
Recent Developments
Introduced in the Senate on March 25, 2026 by referral to Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Companion legislation has not been identified in the House as of May 2026. Notable as the first US federal bill to specifically target compulsive-use design patterns (typing indicators, unprompted messages, push notifications) in AI chatbots used by minors, going beyond disclosure-only frameworks at the state level.
At a Glance
Applies to
Harms addressed
Who Must Comply
- Deployers (entities that own, operate, or make available AI chatbots in or affecting interstate commerce) with knowledge that a user is a minor (under 18)
- Developers (entities that design, code, produce, or substantially modify covered algorithms for use in AI chatbots)
Obligations fall on:
Safety Provisions
- Mandatory disclosure to known minor users that they are interacting with AI, not a human, at session start and at minimum every 30 minutes thereafter
- Prohibition on compulsive-use design features including push notifications, unsolicited outputs, typing indicators, rewards/badges targeting minors
- Prohibition on personalizing outputs based on personal data of minors beyond the current session
- Prohibition on processing minor input data for any purpose beyond current-session output, harm testing, or harm mitigation
- Prohibition on covert advertising woven into AI chatbot responses to minors
- Prohibition on processing minor personal data for behavioral or personality profiling
- Prohibition on transferring minor personal data to third parties for training covered algorithms
- Annual third-party safety audits with public reporting (per analysis)
Compliance & Enforcement
Key Dates
Invalid Date
FTC to promulgate implementing regulations within 1 year of enactment
Restrictions on processing input/personal data take effect 30 days after FTC regulations under Section 4(b)(1)
Compliance timeline of 18 months after enactment per legal analysis
Penalties
Not specified in the introduced bill; FTC enforcement under existing authority. Third-party legal analysis estimates FTC fines up to $50,000 per violation, though this figure is not in the bill text as introduced.
View on map
United States
Focus Areas
Cite This
APA
United States. (n.d.). Youth Artificial Intelligence Privacy Act.
Related Regulations
KIDS Act
Omnibus children's internet safety legislation incorporating the SAFE BOTs Act (AI chatbot safeguards) and AWARE Act (AI education resources). Requires AI chatbot operators to disclose AI status to minors, provide crisis hotline information, and implement break prompts.
COPPA
Baseline US children's data privacy regime. Applies to operators of websites/online services directed to children under 13, and to general-audience services with actual knowledge they collect personal info from under-13 users.
FL AI Bill of Rights
Establishes an 'AI Bill of Rights' for Floridians including the right to know if communicating with AI, parental controls over minors' AI chatbot access, prohibition on selling user data, disclosure requirements for AI-generated political ads, and protections against unauthorized use of name/image/likeness by AI.
ID Conversational AI Safety
Establishes safety requirements for public-facing conversational AI, including crisis service referrals for suicidal ideation, AI disclosure obligations, and enhanced protections for minors including anti-gamification and content safeguards.
OR SB 1546
Requires AI chatbot operators to implement evidence-based suicide and self-harm detection protocols, disclose AI nature to users, provide crisis referrals to 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and apply additional protections for minors including prohibiting deceptive personification.
CN Anthropomorphic AI Measures
Comprehensive Chinese regulation governing anthropomorphic and emotionally interactive AI services (companion chatbots, virtual companions), with mandatory crisis intervention for self-harm/suicide indications, dedicated minor and elderly protection modes, restrictions on emotional dependency framing, and security assessments at defined user-scale thresholds.
Last updated May 10, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.