Why This, Why Now
The first wave of consumer AI built for kids (companion bots, chat “friends,” emotionally responsive avatars) is following the same engagement-at-all-costs playbook that produced two decades of documented harm on social media. Design for compulsive use. Monetize a child’s attention. Deny harm until the courts intervene.
We’ve seen this movie before. We don’t have to watch it again.
A New Mexico jury recently imposed roughly $375 million in penalties on one of the country’s largest technology companies for misleading consumers about platform dangers to children. More than 1,600 similar lawsuits are pending nationwide. The same patterns are now being ported into AI products used by millions of American minors.
The family is the first and proper authority over a child’s formation.
The Consensus Is Already Here
New polling from the Institute for Family Studies (YouGov, May 2026) shows a country in extraordinary agreement:
82% support pre-deployment safety testing of AI. Only 4% oppose. That’s 20 to 1.
87% want AI evaluated for its effect on children and family well-being.
90% of Trump voters and 79% of Harris voters agree.
Americans oppose federal preemption of state AI rules by 3 to 1.
Red states, blue states, every generation; the country is asking the same thing: Protect our kids.
What We’re Asking Congress To Do
01. REAL AGE ASSURANCE, WITH HIGH-RISK FEATURES OFF BY DEFAULT. Verifiable age checks for AI products available to minors. Companion simulation, sexualized content, and autonomous “relationship” features off by default for any user who is, or may be, a child.
02. PARENTAL RIGHTS AND MEANINGFUL TRANSPARENCY. Clear disclosure of what data is collected and how a model is designed to behave. Parental controls that are real, not decorative. Companies should not step between parent and child.
03. NO BLANKET IMMUNITY. NO PREEMPTION. A clear national framework is welcome. A moratorium that voids the child-protection laws states are already enacting is not. Hold platform designers to a duty of care that puts children first.
Sign the Coalition Letter
Project Pathfinder is leading a coalition writing to Congressional Leadership explaining these requests. Use this form to join the coalition and sign the letter.
