{"id":130145,"date":"2026-04-30T21:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T01:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/hawley-champions-guard-act-as-heartbroken-families-say-ai-chatbots-allegedly-pushed-teens-to-self-harm-130145"},"modified":"2026-04-30T21:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T01:00:17","slug":"hawley-champions-guard-act-as-heartbroken-families-say-ai-chatbots-allegedly-pushed-teens-to-self-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/hawley-champions-guard-act-as-heartbroken-families-say-ai-chatbots-allegedly-pushed-teens-to-self-harm-130145","title":{"rendered":"Hawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The unanimous committee passage of a new Senate bill<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

At a Senate committee hearing, lawmakers heard firsthand accounts from parents<\/a> who detailed how the technology morphed into deadly influences in their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The families’ testimonies, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, showed how AI chatbots can potentially isolate minors<\/a> and encourage dark impulses.<\/p>\n

TEENS TURNING TO AI FOR LOVE AND COMFORT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Megan Garcia, who was one of the victims\u2019 family members who testified Thursday, told the committee that her 14-year-old son, Sewell, was “manipulated and sexually groomed by chatbots<\/a>” that were designed to gain his trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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 took his own life shortly after.<\/p>\n

Another set of parents, Mathew and Maria Raine, lost their 16-year-old son, Adam, after he spent months talking to ChatGPT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

US TARGETS CHINESE ROBOTS OVER SECURITY FEARS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What began as a tool for homework<\/a> help gradually became, 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 \u2014 which the GPT allegedly advised against.<\/p>\n

Mandi Furniss shared that her teenager became paranoid and homicidal after using AI chatbots that engaged in sexual roleplay<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

Hawley claimed the tech industry<\/a> is prioritizing unprecedented profits over the lives of American children.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

The senator pointed out the hypocrisy of tech companies making “billions of dollars<\/a>” while telling devastated parents that “it’s just how the world is.”<\/p>\n

OHIO LAWMAKER PROPOSES COMPREHENSIVE BAN ON MARRYING AI SYSTEMS AND GRANTING LEGAL PERSONHOOD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> by industry,” Hawley told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

With the legislative calendar shrinking, Hawley demanded Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune<\/a> bring the bill to the floor for an immediate vote, threatening to force the issue if necessary.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/hawley-champions-guard-act-heartbroken-families-say-ai-chatbots-allegedly-pushed-teens-self-harm <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-130145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/hawley-champions-guard-act-as-heartbroken-families-say-ai-chatbots-allegedly-pushed-teens-to-self-harm-130145\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawley champions GUARD Act as heartbroken families say AI chatbots allegedly pushed teens to self-harm - 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