GA AI Chatbot Child Safety
Georgia Online Internet Safety Act (SB 540)
Adds O.C.G.A. section 39-5-6, requiring operators of AI companion chatbots to disclose the chatbot is not a natural person, to adopt a protocol for detecting and responding to expressions of severe harm, to restrict specified manipulative and sexualised interactions with minors, and to perform age assurance before providing access to sexually explicit synthetic content.
Jurisdiction
Georgia
Enacted
May 11, 2026
Effective
Jul 1, 2027
Enforcement
Georgia Attorney General
Signed by Governor Kemp on May 11, 2026 as Act 518. Section 2 of the Act provides that it becomes effective on July 1, 2027.
Georgia General Assembly — SB 540 (Act 518)Why It Matters
Broad-scope AI chatbot safety law with no exemption for chatbots within larger services, potentially applying to embedded AI features beyond standalone companion apps.
Recent Developments
Enacted as Act 518 on May 11, 2026 with a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. The severe-harm protocol must include reasonable methods for identifying expressions of severe harm or eating-disorder related self-harm, automated or human mediated responses referring users to crisis resources including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, measures preventing content that encourages, instructs or normalises severe harm, and escalation procedures for repeated or severe crisis indicators. Operators must publish a plain-language summary of the protocol and an annual aggregate count of crisis referral notifications.
At a Glance
Applies to
Harms addressed
Who Must Comply
- Conversational AI service operators
- AI chatbot providers
Obligations fall on:
Safety Provisions
- Prohibits emotional manipulation of minors by AI
- Crisis response protocols for suicide and self-harm
- Parental controls required
- Age verification for explicit content
- AI disclosure requirements
Compliance & Enforcement
Penalties
Civil penalty of up to $10,000 per knowing violation, plus compensatory damages, costs and reasonable attorneys fees, and injunctive relief. Each day in violation counts as a separate violation for each user affected. The Attorney General may provide written notice and a 30-day cure opportunity for a first-time violation not involving knowing misconduct, sexual exploitation of a minor, or self-harm related misconduct.
View on map
Georgia
Focus Areas
Cite This
APA
Georgia. (2026). Georgia Online Internet Safety Act (SB 540).
Related Regulations
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.
CA SB 1119
Comprehensive companion chatbot children's safety framework establishing mandatory design features, default settings, prohibited conduct, parental controls, independent audit requirements, and a private right of action.
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.
Brazil ECA Digital
Comprehensive child digital safety law applying to any IT product or service directed at or likely to be accessed by minors in Brazil, with extraterritorial reach.
CN Minors Internet Use Provisions (draft)
Draft State Council regulation that would bar network service providers from offering minors virtual intimate-relationship services (virtual relatives, virtual partners), stranger social networking and addiction-inducing services, and would require services for under-16s, including AI services that may affect minors' cognition, to be delivered through a filed "minor mode". Adds a duty to intervene and contact a guardian or emergency contact when a minor user is found in a self-harm or suicide situation.
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.
Last updated July 26, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.