Josh Hawley Slams AI Companies for Evading Liability for Harmful Chatbots

AI Companies and First Amendment Claims

• 🎯 Social media companies have claimed that age verification requirements violate their First Amendment rights.
• 💡 They have argued inconsistently, first stating they are not editors and publishers to avoid liability, then claiming to be editors and publishers to gain blanket First Amendment protection.

Senator Hawley's Bill and AI Chatbots

• ⚖️ Senator Josh Hawley's bill aims to prevent AI companies from marketing or providing AI companion chatbots to children 17 years of age or under.
• 🔒 The bill includes a verification procedure that protects user privacy through encryption and other industry-standard protections.
• ⚠️ It places the onus on companies to verify age and subjects them to penalties, including prosecution, for lying about compliance.

Holding AI Companies Accountable

• 🧑‍⚖️ Hawley argues that AI companies should not have more constitutional rights than human beings, especially concerning the exploitation of children or lying to users.
• 🚨 He likens the actions of these companies to human behavior that would lead to prosecution, stating that if humans were grooming children this way, they would be prosecuted.
• 💻 The senator dismisses the argument that AI companies cannot be held accountable because "it's just a computer," asserting they can stop harmful activities if they choose to.
• ✅ Hawley believes these measures are not only appropriate and needed but represent basic fairness and how all other Americans are treated.