House File 2204 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2204 BY WICHTENDAHL A BILL FOR An Act relating to the requirements for chatbot deployers, 1 including required protocols, limitations on data 2 collection, and requirements for minors to interact with 3 artificial intelligence companions and therapeutic chatbots, 4 and providing civil penalties, punitive penalties, and civil 5 causes of action. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 5491YH (3) 91 dg/jh

H.F. 2204 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 554J.1 Definitions. 1 1. “AI companion” means a chatbot that interacts with users 2 to simulate a human-like romantic or emotional bond. 3 2. “Artificial intelligence” means a machine-based system 4 that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the 5 input the system receives to generate output that can influence 6 physical or virtual environments. 7 3. “Chatbot” means an artificial intelligence that is made 8 to simulate human conversation with a user through text or 9 audio output. 10 4. “Deployer” means a person that owns an artificial 11 intelligence available for public use. 12 5. “Minor” means an individual who is under eighteen years 13 of age. 14 6. “Output” means new content an artificial intelligence 15 generates based on a user’s input in relation to the data used 16 to train the artificial intelligence. “Output” includes but 17 is not limited to audio-visual media, images, predictions, 18 recommendations, and text. 19 7. “Reasonable age verification” means verifying the age of 20 a user through any of the following: 21 a. Government-issued identification. 22 b. Financial documents that are reliable evidence of an 23 individual’s age. 24 c. A widely accepted practice that reliably evidences an 25 individual’s age. 26 8. “Therapeutic chatbot” means a chatbot designed for the 27 primary purpose of providing mental health support, counseling, 28 or therapy by diagnosing, treating, mitigating, or preventing a 29 mental health condition. 30 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 554J.2 Chatbots. 31 A deployer of a chatbot shall do all of the following: 32 1. Implement and maintain protocols meant to detect, 33 respond to, report, and mitigate harm the chatbot may cause a 34 user in a manner that prioritizes the safety and well-being of 35 -1- LSB 5491YH (3) 91 dg/jh 1/ 5

H.F. 2204 users over the deployer’s interests. 1 2. Limit the collection and storage of user information 2 collected by the chatbot to what is necessary to fulfill the 3 deployer’s purpose for making the chatbot publicly available. 4 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 554J.3 Interactions with minors. 5 1. A deployer shall implement reasonable age verification 6 measures to ensure that a minor cannot use or purchase an AI 7 companion the deployer makes publicly available. 8 2. A deployer shall not make a chatbot publicly available 9 if the chatbot was knowingly designed to impersonate a real 10 individual, regardless of whether the individual is living 11 or deceased, unless the deployer first obtains permission to 12 impersonate the individual from any of the following: 13 a. For a living individual, from the individual or the 14 individual’s legal representative. 15 b. For a deceased individual, from the person responsible 16 for the deceased individual’s estate. If no person is 17 responsible for the deceased individual’s estate, a deployer 18 may make a chatbot that was designed to knowingly impersonate a 19 deceased individual publicly available without permission if 20 the chatbot was designed solely as an educational or research 21 tool or if a reasonable person would believe the chatbot has 22 objective artistic, cultural, or political value. 23 3. A deployer shall not make a therapeutic chatbot available 24 for a minor’s use or purchase unless all of the following 25 apply: 26 a. The therapeutic chatbot provides a clear and conspicuous 27 disclaimer at the beginning of each interaction with the 28 therapeutic chatbot that the therapeutic chatbot is an 29 artificial intelligence and is not a licensed professional. 30 b. The therapeutic chatbot was recommended for the minor’s 31 use by an individual licensed under chapter 154B or 154D after 32 performing an evaluation of the minor. 33 c. The therapeutic chatbot’s developer has significant 34 documentation of how the therapeutic chatbot was tested. 35 -2- LSB 5491YH (3) 91 dg/jh 2/ 5

H.F. 2204 d. Peer-reviewed clinical trial data exists demonstrating 1 the therapeutic chatbot would be a safe, effective tool for the 2 minor’s diagnosis, treatment, mitigation, or prevention of a 3 mental health condition. 4 e. The therapeutic chatbot’s deployer provided clear 5 disclosures of the chatbot’s functions, limitations, and data 6 privacy policies to the individual recommending the therapeutic 7 chatbot under paragraph “b” , and to the minor’s parents, 8 guardians, or custodians. 9 f. The therapeutic chatbot’s deployer developed and 10 implemented protocols for testing the therapeutic chatbot for 11 risks to users, identifying possible risks the therapeutic 12 chatbot poses to users, mitigating risks the therapeutic 13 chatbot poses to users, and quickly rectifying harm the 14 therapeutic chatbot may have caused a user. 15 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 554J.4 Limitations. 16 This chapter shall not apply to a chatbot that is designed 17 to only provide generic responses, including encouragement, to 18 input from a user, and a reasonable person would not expect the 19 responses to create an emotional bond between two individuals 20 having the same conversation. 21 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 554J.5 Enforcement. 22 1. The attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the 23 state to enforce the provisions of this chapter and may seek an 24 injunction for violations of this chapter. 25 2. A court may issue a civil penalty of not more than 26 two thousand five hundred dollars for each violation of this 27 chapter, or seven thousand five hundred dollars if a person 28 violates an injunction issued under this chapter. Penalties 29 assessed under this subsection shall be deposited into the 30 general fund of the state. 31 3. A minor who uses a chatbot that does not comply with this 32 chapter may bring an action to recover all of the following: 33 a. The greater of the following: 34 (1) Punitive damages of not less than one hundred dollars 35 -3- LSB 5491YH (3) 91 dg/jh 3/ 5

H.F. 2204 but not more than seven hundred fifty dollars. 1 (2) Actual damages. 2 b. Emotional distress damages. 3 c. Court costs. 4 d. Reasonable attorney fees. 5 EXPLANATION 6 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 7 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 8 This bill relates to chatbot deployers. 9 The bill defines “AI companion” as a chatbot that interacts 10 with users to simulate a human-like romantic or emotional bond. 11 The bill defines “artificial intelligence” as a 12 machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit 13 objective, infers from the input the system receives to 14 generate output that can influence physical or virtual 15 environments. 16 The bill defines “chatbot” as an artificial intelligence 17 that is made to simulate human conversation with a user through 18 text or audio output. 19 The bill defines “deployer” as a person that owns an 20 artificial intelligence available for public use. 21 The bill defines “therapeutic chatbot” as a chatbot designed 22 for the primary purpose of providing mental health support, 23 counseling, or therapy by diagnosing, treating, mitigating, or 24 preventing a mental health condition. 25 The bill also defines “minor”, “output”, and “reasonable age 26 verification”. 27 The bill requires a deployer of a chatbot to implement 28 and maintain protocols meant to detect, respond to, report, 29 and mitigate harm the chatbot may cause a user in a manner 30 that prioritizes the safety and well-being of users over the 31 deployer’s interests, and limit the collection and storage of 32 user information collected by the chatbot to what is necessary 33 to fulfill the deployer’s purpose for making the chatbot 34 publicly available. 35 -4- LSB 5491YH (3) 91 dg/jh 4/ 5

H.F. 2204 The bill requires a deployer to implement reasonable age 1 verification measures to ensure that a minor cannot use or 2 purchase an AI companion the deployer makes publicly available. 3 The bill prohibits a deployer from making a chatbot publicly 4 available if the chatbot was knowingly designed to impersonate 5 a real individual, regardless of whether the individual 6 is living or deceased, unless the deployer first obtains 7 permission to impersonate the individual from sources detailed 8 in the bill, or, in situations where no person is responsible 9 for a deceased individual’s estate, a deployer may make such a 10 chatbot publicly available if the chatbot was designed solely 11 as an educational or research tool or if a reasonable person 12 would believe the chatbot has objective artistic, cultural, or 13 political value. 14 The bill prohibits a deployer from making a therapeutic 15 chatbot available for a minor’s mental health support, 16 counseling, or therapy unless the therapeutic chatbot meets 17 certain requirements as detailed in the bill. 18 The bill does not apply to a chatbot that is designed to 19 only provide generic responses, including encouragement, to 20 input from a user, and a reasonable person would not expect the 21 responses to create an emotional bond between two individuals 22 having the same conversation. 23 The bill allows the attorney general to bring an action on 24 behalf of the state to enforce the bill’s provisions and seek 25 an injunction for violations of the bill. A court may issue a 26 civil penalty of not more than $2,500 for each violation of the 27 bill, or $7,500 if a person violates an injunction issued under 28 the bill. Penalties awarded to the state under the bill shall 29 be deposited into the general fund of the state. 30 The bill allows a minor who uses a chatbot that does not 31 comply with the bill to bring an action to recover punitive 32 damages of not less than $100 but not more than $750 or actual 33 damages, whichever is greater; emotional distress damages; 34 court costs; and reasonable attorney fees. 35 -5- LSB 5491YH (3) 91 dg/jh 5/ 5