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Session of 2026
HOUSE BILL No. 2671
By Committee on K-12 Education Budget
Requested by Representative McDonald
2-3
AN ACT concerning consumer protection; establishing the Kansas
community harmed by AI technology act; requiring covered entities to
mandate user accounts for accessing companion AI chatbots and to
verify user age using commercially available methods; classifying users
as minors or adults based on age verification; mandating parental
account affiliation and parental consent for minors; blocking minor
users' access to interactions involving suicidal ideation or sexually
explicit communications; protecting the confidentiality of age
information and monitoring interactions for suicidal ideation; requiring
popups to inform users that they are interacting with AI, not humans;
requiring the attorney general to issue compliance guidance by
December 31, 2026; outlining enforcement actions under the Kansas
consumer protection act; providing a safe harbor for covered entities
that rely on user-provided age information and comply with the
attorney general's guidance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. Sections 1 through 5, and amendments thereto, may be
cited as the Kansas community harmed by AI technology act or the Kansas
CHAT act.
Sec. 2. As used in this act and unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Act" means the Kansas community harmed by AI technology act.
(b) "Companion AI chatbot" means any software-based artificial
intelligence system or program that exists for the primary purpose of
simulating interpersonal or emotional interaction, friendship,
companionship or mental health therapeutic communication with a user.
(c) "Covered entity" means any person that owns, operates or
otherwise makes available a companion AI chatbot to individuals in the
state of Kansas.
(d) "Interaction" means one or more complete back-and-forth
exchanges between a user and the companion AI chatbot during a single
engagement.
(e) "Minor" means any individual who has not attained 18 years of
age.
(f) "Popup" means a visible notification on the screen of a user that
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can be resolved if upon such user's interaction with such notification.
(g) "Sexually explicit communication" includes any content,
conversation or material that describes, depicts or encourages sexually
explicit conduct as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2256(2)(B), as in effect on July
1, 2026.
(h) "Suicidal ideation" means, with respect to an interaction between
a minor and a companion AI chatbot, any dialogue in which such minor
expresses thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
Sec. 3. (a) A covered entity shall require each individual accessing a
companion AI chatbot to make a user account to use or otherwise interact
with such chatbot.
(b) (1) With respect to each user account of a companion AI chatbot
that exists as of July 1, 2026, a covered entity shall:
(A) On such date, freeze any such account;
(B) inform the individual owning such user account that in order to
restore the functionality of such account, the user is required to provide
age information that is verifiable using a commercially available method
or process that is reasonably designed to ensure accuracy; and
(C) use such age information to classify each user as a minor or an
adult.
(2) At the time that an individual creates a new user account to use or
interact with a companion AI chatbot, a covered entity shall:
(A) Require the individual to submit age information to the covered
entity; and
(B) verify the individual's age using a commercially available method
or process that is reasonably designed to ensure accuracy.
(c) If the age verification process described in subsection (b)
determines that a user is a minor, a covered entity shall:
(1) Require the account of such user to be affiliated with a parental
account that such covered entity has verified the individual's age using a
commercially available method or process that is reasonably designed to
ensure accuracy;
(2) obtain verifiable parental consent from the holder of the account
before allowing a minor to access and use the companion AI chatbot;
(3) when any interaction involving suicidal ideation occurs, block the
minor's access to the companion AI chatbot and immediately inform the
holder of the parental account; and
(4) block the minor's access to any companion AI chatbot that
engages in sexually explicit communication.
(d) A covered entity shall protect the confidentiality of age
information provided by a user for age verification by limiting the
collection, processing, use and storage of such information to what is
strictly necessary to verify a user's age, obtain verifiable parental consent
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HB 2671 3
or maintain compliance records.
(e) A covered entity shall monitor companion AI chatbot interactions
for suicidal ideation and, in response to any such interaction, provide to
the user and the parental account affiliated with such user appropriate
resources by presenting contact information for the national suicide
prevention lifeline.
(f) At the beginning of any interaction between a user and a
companion AI chatbot and not less frequently than every 60 minutes
during such interaction thereafter, a covered entity shall display to such
user a clear popup that notifies the user that such user is not engaging in
dialogue with a human counterpart and the AI chatbot is not licensed or
otherwise credentialed to provide advice or guidance on any topic.
Sec. 4. (a) On or before December 31, 2026, the attorney general
shall issue guidance to assist covered entities in complying with the
requirements of this act.
(b) (1) A violation of this act by a covered entity shall constitute a
deceptive act pursuant to the Kansas consumer protection act, K.S.A. 50-
623 et seq., and amendments thereto. For purposes of the remedies and
penalties provided by the Kansas consumer protection act:
(2) The person alleging a violation of this section shall be deemed a
consumer, and the covered entity that violates this section shall be deemed
the supplier; and
(3) proof of a consumer transaction shall not be required.
(c) The attorney general shall adopt rules and regulations as necessary
for the administration of this act.
Sec. 5. A covered entity shall not be deemed liable for a violation of
this act if the covered entity has:
(a) Relied in good faith on age information provided by a user of the
companion AI chatbot for purposes of verifying the age of such user;
(b) applied the age verification methods that the attorney general
included in the guidance required to be issued pursuant to section 4, and
amendments thereto; and
(c) otherwise complied with the guidance described in section 4, and
amendments thereto.
Sec. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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