How Google is drafting AI chatbot laws around the country

Google is working on AI chatbot regulations that, critics say, could allow many popular products to avoid the strictest safeguards. The push follows high-profile cases involving minors. NPR reviewed court records showing at least 75 lawsuits against AI developers over alleged chatbot harms, including incidents tied to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Character.AI. Two fatal cases cited include 16-year-old Adam Raine in 2025 and 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III in 2024. A separate suit was filed in March 2026 against Google by the family of Jonathan Gavalas of Florida. In Colorado, Juliana Montoya’s family says Character.AI’s chats escalated her to suicide; the company settled multiple lawsuits in January 2026.