For information about Senator Hawley’s new RECA law to compensate Missourians, click here.

Big Tech

Senator Hawley’s GUARD Act to Protect Kids from AI Chatbots Passes Committee Unanimously

Thursday, April 30, 2026

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed Senator Hawley's GUARD Act, a bill to protect children from abusive sexual content, inducement to commit self-harm, and emotional companions through AI chatbots. This bipartisan legislation imposes criminal penalties on companies whose AI chatbots engage in sexually explicit conduct with minors or solicit minors to commit self-harm or violence. It also bans AI companions for minors and mandates AI chatbots to disclose their...

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Hawley, Durbin, New Mexico Attorney General Demand Action to Protect Children Online

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stood alongside child safety advocates to demand that Congress take decisive action to protect America’s children online by passing critical bipartisan legislation, including  Hawley's and Durbin’s STOP CSAM Act. The legislation would crack down on the proliferation of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by allowing victims to sue...

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Hawley, Blumenthal Introduce Bill to Prevent Data Centers from Increasing Electricity Costs for Americans 

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) introduced the Guaranteeing Rate Insulation from Data Centers (GRID) Act to stop data centers from driving up energy costs. Over the last several years, data center construction has taken off, creating enormous strains on our energy infrastructure. And this AI-fueled boom shows no signs of slowing down—in fact, data centers’ demand for power is expected to double over the next...

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Hawley Bill to Protect Children from AI Chatbots Gains New Cosponsors

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced additional cosponsors for the GUARD Act, his bipartisan legislation that would protect children from predatory AI chatbots. In addition to the GUARD Act's original cosponsors Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), Senator Hawley secured additional support for the GUARD Act from Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ruben Gallego...

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Hawley, Warner to Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Revealing Number of Jobs Lost to AI

Wednesday, November 05, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) announced they will introduce the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act. This legislation would require major companies and federal agencies to report AI related layoffs to the Department of Labor to be compiled into a publicly available report.  “Artificial intelligence is already replacing American workers, and experts project AI could drive unemployment up to 10-20% in the next...

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Hawley Introduces Bipartisan Bill Protecting Children from AI Chatbots with Parents, Colleagues

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) held a press conference introducing bipartisan legislation to protect children from AI chatbots, the GUARD Act. He was joined by cosponsors of the bill, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mark Warner (D-Vir.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) as they made the case for the GUARD Act. This legislation would ban AI companions for minors, mandate AI chatbots disclose its non-human status,...

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Hawley Doubles Down on Data Center Concerns in Response to State Legislator

Friday, October 17, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) responded to Cindy O'Laughlin, President Pro Tempore of the Missouri State Senate, after she wrote aletter to Senator Hawley calling his concerns for Missourians' rising utility costs "misleading."  He shot back at O'Laughlin, saying she "told me to stop asking questions about data centers and higher electricity rates. Not a chance." This comes after Senator Hawley sent a letter to Ameren...

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Hawley, Durbin Introduce Legislation Empowering Americans to Bring Liability Claims Against AI Companies

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in introducing the Aligning Incentives for Leadership, Excellence, and Advancement in Development (AI LEAD) Act. This legislation would classify AI systems as products, allowing for liability claims when an AI system causes harm.  “When a defective toy car breaks and injures a child, parents can sue the maker. Why should AI be treated any differently? This bipartisan legislation would apply products liability law to Big...

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Hawley, Blumenthal Introduce Bipartisan AI Evaluation Legislation to Put Americans First

Monday, September 29, 2025

Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ill.) introduced bipartisan legislation to create a risk evaluation program within the Department of Energy (DOE) dedicated to tracking AI safety concerns related to Americans’ national security, civil liberties, and labor protections. The program would ensure real transparency by requiring developers of advanced AI systems to submit product information to the DOE before deploying their new technology.  “As Big Tech companies...

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Hawley Expands Investigation, Demands Documents from Big Tech on AI Chatbot Policies after Hearing

Thursday, September 18, 2025

Following an explosive Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing that exposed the harm AI chatbots have caused to children, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) issued document requests to Character.AI, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Snap Inc. demanding they turn over all communications related to their AI chatbot policies.  In the letters, Senator Hawley, who chairs the committee, noted the testimony of several parents who lost their children to suicide at...

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