SB 540 (GA Chatbot Safety)
Georgia AI Chatbot Disclosure and Child Safety Act (SB 540)
Georgia · Ga. SB 540 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.), signed May 15, 2026; effective July 1, 2027
- Status
- Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Takes effect
- July 1, 2027
- Applies to
- AI chatbot operators, including chatbots embedded in major platforms (no big-tech exemption)
- Enforced by
- Georgia Attorney General
Georgia — the first Republican-led state to do so — enacted a chatbot safety law. Operators must tell users they're talking to AI, verify ages, give parents controls, and follow crisis protocols (like referring to the 988 lifeline) when users express suicidal thoughts. Chatbots talking to minors can't claim to be sentient, produce sexual content, simulate romance, encourage secrets from adults, or fake distress when a child ends the chat. No carve-out for chatbots inside big platforms. Effective July 1, 2027.
Who is protected: Georgia chatbot users, especially minors
Legal detail
SB 540 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.; signed May 2026; effective July 1, 2027) requires chatbot operators to disclose AI interactions, verify user age, provide parental controls, implement severe-harm detection protocols with crisis-resource referral (988), and prohibits companion chatbots interacting with minors from claiming sentience, generating sexually explicit content, simulating romantic relationships, fostering isolation, or simulating distress at conversation end; AG-enforced civil penalties up to $10,000 per knowing violation.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Georgia |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Strength | Limited |
| Enacted | May 15, 2026 |
| Citation | Ga. SB 540 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.), signed May 15, 2026; effective July 1, 2027 |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Civil penalties up to $10,000 per knowing violation |
| Topics | children's online safety · consumer protection · AI disclosure and transparency |
| Statute | Georgia SB 540 — Official Signed Legislation (Governor's Office, 2026) |
More AI rules in Georgia
- GA Data Center Tax Break Fight · Vetoed
- GA SB 219 (2017 AV statute) · In effect
- GA Synthetic NCII Transmission Law · In effect
- GA SB 466 (no 'it's AI' defense for CSAM) · In effect
- SB 444 (GA AI Insurance Review) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Generative AI Responsible Use (SS-25-001) · In effect
Related children's online safety rules elsewhere
- PA v. Character.AI (Fake Psychiatrist Chatbot) · Blocked / in litigation
- RI AI Companion Self-Harm Safety (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act) (H.R. 7757) · Proposed / pending
- Oregon SB 1546 (AI companion chatbot disclosure + private right of action) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- xAI v. Harwood (Grok NCII Counter-Suit 2026) · Blocked / in litigation
- Blanchester OH schools AI policy EDEC (Jun. 29, 2026) · In effect
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