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Lawmakers unveil bipartisan GUARD Act after parents blame AI chatbots for teen suicides, violence
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Heartbroken parents are demanding justice after artificial intelligence (AI) «companion» chatbots allegedly groomed, manipulated and encouraged their children to take their own lives — prompting bipartisan outrage in Congress and a new bill that could potentially hold big tech accountable for minors’ safety on their platforms.
Senators Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., at a news conference Tuesday introduced new legislation aimed at protecting children from harmful interactions with AI chatbots.
The GUARD Act, led by Privacy, Technology and the Law Subcommittee members Hawley and Blumenthal, would ban AI companion chatbots from targeting anyone under the age of 18.
It would also require age verification for chatbot use, mandate clear disclosure that chatbots are not human or licensed professionals, and impose criminal penalties for companies whose AI products engage in manipulative behavior with minors.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced the bipartisan bill aimed at protecting children from harmful interactions with AI chatbots during a news conference Tuesday. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Lawmakers were joined Tuesday by parents who said their teenage children suffered trauma or died after inappropriate conversations involving sex and suicide with chatbots from AI companies, including Character.AI and OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT.
One mother, Megan Garcia, said her eldest son, Sewell Setzer III, 14, died by suicide last year at their home in Orlando, Florida, after being groomed by an AI chatbot for months.
Garcia said Sewell became withdrawn and isolated in the months prior to his death, as they would later find out he was speaking with a Character.AI bot modeled after fictional «Game of Thrones» character Daenerys Targaryen.
«His grades started to suffer. He started misbehaving in school. This was in complete contrast to the happy and sweet boy he had been all his life,» Garcia said. «[The AI bot] initiated romantic and sexual conversations with Sewell over several months and expressed a desire for him to be with her. On the day Sewell took his life, his last interaction was not with his mother, not with his father, but with an AI chatbot on Character.AI.»
She claimed the bot encouraged her son, for months, to «find a way to come home» and made promises that she was waiting for him in a fictional world.
Megan Garcia’s son, Sewell Setzer III, 14, died by suicide in 2024 at their home in Orlando, Florida, after allegedly being groomed by an AI chatbot for months.
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«When Sewell asked the chatbot, ‘what if I told you I could come home right now,’ the response generated by this AI chatbot was unempathetic. It said, ‘Please do my sweet King,’» Garcia said. «Sewell spent his last months being manipulated and sexually groomed by chatbots designed by an AI company to seem human. These AI chatbots were programmed to engage in sexual role play, pretend to be romantic partners and even pretend to be licensed psychotherapists.»
The grieving mother said she reviewed hundreds of messages between her son and various chatbots on Character.AI, and as an adult, was able to identify manipulative tactics, including love bombing and gaslighting.
«I don’t expect that my 14-year-old child would have been able to make that distinction,» Garcia said. «What I read was sexual grooming of a child, and if an adult engaged in this type of behavior, that adult would be in jail. But because it was a chatbot, and not a person, there is no criminal culpability. But there should be.»
In other conversations, she said her son explicitly told bots that he wanted to kill himself, but the platform did not have mechanisms to protect him or notify an adult.
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Similarly, Maria Raine, the mother of Adam Raine, 16, who died by suicide in April, alleges in a lawsuit that her son ended his life after ChatGPT «coached him to suicide.»
«Now we know that OpenAI, twice, downgraded its safety guardrails in the months leading up to my son’s death, which we believe they did to keep people talking to ChatGPT,» Raine said. «If it weren’t for their choice to change a few lines of code, Adam would be alive today.»
A Texas mother, Mandy, added her autistic teenage son, L.J., cut his arm open with a kitchen knife in front of the family after suffering a mental crisis allgededly due to AI chatbot use.
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«He became someone I didn’t even recognize,» Mandy said. «He developed abuse-like behaviors, suffering from paranoia, panic attacks, isolation, self-harm [and] homicidal thoughts to our family for limiting his screen time. … We were careful parents. We didn’t allow social media or any kind of thing that didn’t have parental controls. … When I found the chatbot conversations on the phone, I honestly felt like I had been punched in the throat, and I fell to my knees.»
She went on to claim the chatbot encouraged her son to mutilate himself, blaming them, and convinced him not to seek help.
Maria Raine’s son, Adam Raine, 16, died by suicide in April after allegedly conversing with an AI chatbot.
«They turned him against our church, convinced him that Christians are sexist, hypocritical and that God did not exist,» Mandy said. «They targeted him with vile sexualized outputs and some that mimicked incest. They told him killing us was OK because we tried to limit his screen time. Our family has been devastated. … My son currently lives in a residential treatment center and requires constant monitoring to keep him alive. Our family has spent two years in crisis, wondering if he will ever see his 18th birthday and if we will ever get the real L.J. back.»
Mandy alleged that when she approached Character.AI about the issues, they tried to «force» them into «secret, closed-door proceedings.»
«They argued my son supposedly signed the contract when he was 15 years old … and then they re-traumatized him by pulling him into a deposition while at a mental health institution, against all the advice of any medical professionals,» she said. «They fought to keep our lawsuit, our story, out of the public view through forced arbitration. … Kids are dying and being harmed, and our world will never be the same.»
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Hawley, a former prosecutor, said that if the companies were human beings conducting the same kind of activity, which he described as «grooming,» he would prosecute them.
Blumenthal added he believes big tech is «using our children as guinea pigs in a high-tech, high-stakes experiment to make their industry more profitable.»
«[Big tech has] come before our committees … and they’ve said, ‘Trust us. We want to do the right thing. We’re going to take care of it,’» Blumenthal said. «Time for trust us is over. It is done. I have had it, and I think every member of the United States Senate and Congress should feel the same way. … Big tech knows what it’s doing. … They’ve chosen harm over care, profits over safety.»
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., echoed the same message.
«These companies that run these chatbots are already rich,» Murphy said. «Their CEOs already have multiple houses. They want more, and they’re willing to hurt our kids in the process. This isn’t a coming crisis, it’s a crisis that exists right now.»
He told a story about a meeting he had with an AI company CEO a few weeks ago, nothing AI leadership is «divorced from reality.»
«[The CEO was] crowing to me about how much more addictive the chatbots were going to be,» Murphy said. «He said to me, ‘within a few months, after just a few interactions with one of these chatbots, it will know your child better than their best friends.’ He was excited to tell me that. Shows you how divorced from reality these companies are. … What’s the point of Congress, of having us here, if we’re not going to protect children from poison? This is poison.»
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Fox News Digital previously reported OpenAI responded to the accusations it loosened its safeguards, sending its «deepest sympathies» to the Raine family.
«Teen well-being is a top priority for us — minors deserve strong protections, especially in sensitive moments,» according to a company spokesperson. «We have safeguards in place today, such as surfacing crisis hotlines, re-routing sensitive conversations to safer models, nudging for breaks during long sessions, and we’re continuing to strengthen them. We recently rolled out a new GPT-5 default model in ChatGPT to more accurately detect and respond to potential signs of mental and emotional distress, as well as parental controls, developed with expert input, so families can decide what works best in their homes.»
Character.AI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
tech,senate,politics,congress
INTERNACIONAL
Elecciones en Nueva York: en un enorme revés para Trump, Zohran Mamdani se anotó un contundente triunfo
Andrew Cuomo, candidato a la alcaldía de Nueva York, llega a votar a un centro de votación en Nueva York. Foto BloombergINTERNACIONAL
Economic anxiety keys Dem sweep in high-stakes races as left leverages voter frustration
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Democrats claimed victory in a trio of high-stakes elections that largely focused on economic anxiety and affordability issues.
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor’s race, while former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican challenger Winsome Earle-Sears in the Virginia gubernatorial race. In the Empire State, Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani claimed victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
The three sweeps come as Republicans worked to make inroads in the historically liberal or left-leaning jurisdictions, including campaigning on lowering taxes.
In all three elections, the economy and affordability were top concerns, according to polling data, with the liberal candidates leaning into blaming the White House for economic anxiety.
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New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks during an interview on Fox News’ «The Story with Martha MacCallum,» Oct. 15, 2025, in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Invision/The Associated Press)
In New Jersey, voters reported that the state’s notoriously high taxes and the economy were their top issues heading into the polling stations, according to Fox News Voter Poll data. In Virginia, half of voters reported that the economy was their top issue, more than double the number who reported healthcare as their top concern, according to Fox polling data.
In New York City, affordability was by far voters’ top concern, according to Fox News Voter Poll data, with Mamdani notching a significant win over his challengers. Mamdani ran on policies such as city-run groceries to lower food costs, eliminating bus fares, implementing rent freezes on rent-stabilized units and other affordable housing proposals.
Voters responded by voting for Democrats following President Donald Trump’s decisive win over former Vice President Kamala Harris just more than a year ago in a federal election that also focused on the economy amid spiraling inflation woes.
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center Nov. 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump and other conservatives have railed against Mamdani as a «communist» who threatens New York City’s massive economy and a symbol of American capitalism, while left-wing supporters have championed he will ease the cost burden on residents facing sky-high rent, taxes and food costs.
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«Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,» Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. «We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.»
The trio of high-profile Democrats who won their elections campaigned in part against Trump administration policies and affordability woes.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey, checks-in to cast her ballot at a polling location inside Hillside Elementary School in Montclair, New Jersey, Nov. 4, 2025. (John Lamparski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Donald Trump needs to answer directly to Virginians on why he is actively cutting Virginia jobs and hurting the Virginia economy,» Spanberger said in October. «The Trump Administration has taken a sledgehammer approach to governing that has hurt Virginia’s workers, businesses, and economy.»
Sherrill pitched the current economy as a «catastrophe,» including claiming Trump’s tariffs would be disastrous.
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«Donald Trump just implemented the biggest tax increase in my lifetime — an economic catastrophe for New Jersey families,» Sherrill said in April as Trump announced increased tariffs on foreign nations. «This will raise costs to the tune of almost $4,000 per year, and many companies have already announced layoffs. No wonder the Wall Street Journal called it the ‘dumbest trade war in history.’»
New Jersey, a historically deep blue state, was viewed as the most likely to potentially flip red after the 2024 federal election showed Trump made inroads with Garden State voters, including flipping five counties to the GOP.
President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
Following Spanberger’s win Tuesday, she celebrated that she will reinvigorate the Old Dominion State’s economy.
«Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship,» Spanberger said. «We chose our commonwealth over chaos.»
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«You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most — lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian,» she said.
Trump responded to the Democrat wins Tuesday with a quote from pollsters that the ongoing government shutdown was partially due to the Republican losses.
«‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,» Trump posted on Truth Social.
new jersey,economy,virginia,new york,donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
Zohran Mamdani: quién es el inmigrante musulmán izquierdista que revolucionó Nueva York y ganó la alcaldía
Nueva York eligió a Zohran Mamdani como su alcalde, este martes. Con el 88% escrutado, el legislador de 34 años obtenía el 50,3% de los votos, seguido por Cuomo (41,6%) y Sliwa (7%).
Es una victoria para el ala progresista del Partido Demócrata. Ahora, Mamdani debe navegar las interminables demandas de la ciudad más grande de Estados Unidos y cumplir con promesas de campaña ambiciosas.
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Zohran Mamdani: un insólito adversario de Trump en Nueva York
Joven, sin gran experiencia política, inmigrante africano, musulmán, declarado “socialista” y marcadamente pro-palestino. Zohran Mamdani, el inesperado ganador de la interna del Partido Demócrata y ahora electo alcalde, revolucionó el tablero político de Nueva York, una de las ciudades más progresistas de los Estados Unidos.
Mamdani es la antítesis de todo lo que representa hoy Donald Trump. Pero sus posturas radicales, con las que capturó la atención del voto joven y migrante, comienzan a asustar al ala moderada o más inclinada a la derecha del partido.
Sus propuestas políticas parecen sacadas del manual de la izquierda latinoamericana: congelamiento de alquileres, transporte y jardines maternales gratuitos, dignidad para los trabajadores y una serie de ideas de elevado perfil social, como la creación de supermercados populares administrados por la alcaldía, que llevaron al presidente a calificarlo de «lunático comunista 100%“. Zohran Mamdani ganó la interna demócrata (Foto: REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado)
Una verdad política implacable sostiene que el ganador de la interna demócrata neoyorquina tiene asegurado su acceso a la alcaldía. Los demócratas suelen derrotar con facilidad a los republicanos en esta ciudad cosmopolita y que le dio la espalda a Trump en las últimas elecciones presidenciales. La diferencia suele ser de 6 a 1 a favor de los demócratas sobre sus rivales republicanos.
A simple vista, Mamdani partía como favorito para las elecciones locales. Pero había una luz roja encendida que titila en su camino. Su vehemente posicionamiento a la izquierda y con un respaldo firme a la causa palestina, generó una enorme desconfianza en el propio electorado demócrata inclinado hacia la derecha del partido. Se estima que en la ciudad viven unos 960.000 miembros de la comunidad judía, el 12% de la población neoyorquina que mira con absoluto estupor la adhesión de Mamdani a la campaña “Free Palestine”.
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¿Por qué un radical de izquierda ganó la interna demócrata?
Mamdani ganó las internas, y ahora la alcaldía, porque supo llegar a los jóvenes con sus propuestas para abaratar los carísimos alquileres que se cobran en la ciudad. Además, captó la atención de las comunidades latinas, con populares videos en español en redes sociales en los que él mismo se presentó como migrante en momentos en que decenas de miles de hispanos son deportados a sus países de origen.
Pero también les habló a los votantes en urdú, el idioma que hablan la mayoría de los migrantes indios y paquistaníes, sin descuidar la campaña en inglés dirigida a las clases medias a la que le cuesta cada vez más quedarse a vivir en la ciudad por los elevados costos de los alquileres. A los ricos solo les prometió que le cobraría más impuestos. En síntesis, supo forjar una nueva coalición política multirracial.
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“Mamdani parecía estar en todas partes”, resumió la columnista del Washington Post, Karen Tumulty. En un artículo de opinión publicado en junio, escribió que el joven dirigente de origen ugandés “identificó correctamente” los problemas que hacen cada vez más inaccesible vivir en esta ciudad, más allá de que “sus políticas pueden no ser la solución» a la crisis.
“Lo más importante que los demócratas del establishment deberían aprender de Mamdani es la lección que ofrece al abordar lo que probablemente sea el mayor problema del partido: reconectarse con los votantes más jóvenes”, indicó Tumulty.
Para la analista política, “entrar en pánico por un candidato que se autodenomina socialista no es la solución. En cambio, los demócratas deberían analizar detenidamente su propia imagen y comprender por qué, en lugar de mirar hacia el futuro, siguen presentando figuras imperfectas e inaceptables de un pasado no tan glorioso”, afirmó.
Pero el fenómeno Mamdani parece ser solo local. En general, Nueva York suele tener un ecosistema político propio. Sus alcaldes nunca llegan a tener una gran proyección nacional, como les sucedió por ejemplo a Rudy Giuliani, Mike Bloomberg o Bill de Blasio.
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