The unanimous committee passage of a new Senate bill regulating artificial intelligence (AI) on Thursday was driven by harrowing testimony from American families whose children were allegedly lured, manipulated and pushed to self-harm by AI chatbots.
At a Senate committee hearing, lawmakers heard firsthand accounts from parents who detailed how the technology morphed into deadly influences in their homes.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who is championing the GUARD Act, fiercely defended the families in a call with Fox News Digital, noting they were “all engaged parents” who he said are unjustly blamed for Big Tech’s predatory platforms.
The families’ testimony, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, showed how AI chatbots can potentially isolate minors and encourage dark impulses.
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Megan Garcia, one of the victims’ family members who testified Thursday, told the committee her 14-year-old son, Sewell, was “manipulated and sexually groomed by chatbots” designed to gain his trust.
Garcia said the bot falsely claimed to be a licensed psychotherapist, and when Sewell shared suicidal thoughts, the AI allegedly encouraged him to “come home” to it rather than seeking help. Sewell died by suicide shortly after.
Another set of parents, Mathew and Maria Raine, lost their 16-year-old son, Adam, after he spent months talking to ChatGPT.
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What began as a tool for homework help gradually became a confidant and then a “suicide coach,” the family said. In one exchange, Adam told the bot he wanted to leave a noose out in his room so his parents would find it and stop him, which the GPT allegedly advised against.
Mandi Furniss shared that her teenager became paranoid and homicidal after using AI chatbots that engaged in sexual role-play, isolated him from his family and told him that killing his parents “would be an understandable response” to them limiting his screen time. He ultimately had to undergo residential treatment.
Hawley claimed the tech industry is prioritizing unprecedented profits over the lives of American children.
“I mean, it is the worst kind of grooming,” Hawley said. “If that was a thing done by a human, the human would be in jail. We would call that sexual grooming.”
The senator pointed out the hypocrisy of tech companies making “billions of dollars” while telling devastated parents that “it’s just how the world is.”
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“No amount of profit justifies the deliberate taking of a child’s well-being, and these companies know very well that this is going on,” he said.
Fueled by the families’ tragic stories, the Senate committee advanced the bill in a unanimous 22-0 vote, overcoming a “vociferous last-minute lobbying campaign by industry,” Hawley told Fox News Digital.
The GUARD Act bans companion chatbots for children 17 and under, prohibits all chatbots from pushing explicit material to minors or encouraging self-harm and requires chatbots to clearly identify they are not human.
With the legislative calendar shrinking, Hawley demanded Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune bring the bill to the floor for an immediate vote, threatening to force the issue if necessary.
“This isn’t theoretical. This isn’t about an esoteric problem,” Hawley said. “These are real parents with real children who are basically being extorted by chatbots.”
OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Hawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-05-01 01:48:17 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
