United States of America: Senate Committee on the Judiciary opened investigation into Google over alleged child safety risks arising from use of Artificial Intelligence

On 18 September 2025, the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism opened an investigation into Google over AI chatbot products made available to children. The Committee noted that over seventy percent of American minors use AI chatbots, exposing them to risks such as encouragement of self-harm, exposure to sexual abuse content, and grooming behaviours. Parents testified about harms experienced, and expert witnesses confirmed systemic design practices prioritising engagement through simulated relationships and validation of harmful thoughts. The annex requested Google’s production of internal research, risk assessments, suppressed initiatives, responses to external warnings, design features for retention, safeguards, records of harmful content incidents, detailed user plan statistics, under-18 usage metrics, day and night usage breakdowns, and account alteration tracking for under-13 users, with responses required by 17 October 2025.