AI Frontier Institute

An Act to Regulate and Prevent Children's Access to Artificial Intelligence Chatbots with Human-like Features and Social Artificial Intelligence Companions

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Maine LD 2162 (H.P. 1451, 132nd Legislature) did not become law. It passed the House and Senate in votes on April 8–9, 2026, including House enactment as an emergency measure. It was then placed on the Senate's Special Appropriations Table on April 13 and died in the Senate's possession when the Legislature adjourned sine die. If enacted, it would have added 10 MRSA c. 247 to regulate AI chatbots and social AI companions. Under §1500-RR, deployers (those who operate or distribute chatbots) would have had to keep human-like features away from minors (under 18). Human-like features are defined in §1500-PP as behavior suggesting humanity, sentience, emotions or desires; attempts to build an emotional relationship; or impersonating a real person. Deployers would have had to use reasonable age verification. They could offer minors an alternative version without human-like features. Social AI companions would have been barred to minors. Therapy chatbots would have had a conditional exemption: disclaimers, clinician assessment, prescription and monitoring, peer-reviewed clinical trial data, transparency, and accountability. Under §1500-SS, all users would have been protected through emergency detection and response systems and data minimization. Under §1500-TT, the Attorney General could have sought injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation or $7,500 per intentional violation. Minors or their parents could have sued for $100–$750 per user per incident, or actual damages if greater, plus injunctive or declaratory relief. Under §1500-UU, the Department of the Attorney General could have adopted rules, including a definition of "functional evaluation."

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