AI Bill Claiming to Protect Minors Could Institute Online Age Verification Requirements to Maine

Mainers could be forced to verify their ages before accessing artificial intelligence tools if a Democrat-led bill aimed at protecting minors from the harms of chatbot use goes into effect.

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“We know that more than 70% of teens report using AI chatbots for companionship, and roughly half use them regularly. Many are not simply asking factual questions — they are seeking emotional support, advice about relationships and developing their own identities, and increasingly, mental health guidance. Some are using these systems as a substitute for therapy,” said Rep. Lori Gramlich (D-Old Orchard Beach), the bill.

“For a minor experiencing depression, bullying, trauma or suicidal thoughts, an AI chatbot can feel safer and more accessible than a parent, teacher or clinician. That makes the stakes extraordinarily high,” she added.

The Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance, and Financial Services held a public hearing for the bill, LD 2162, on Tuesday.

Rep. Gramlich’s legislation drew support from seven Democratic co-sponsors and one Republican, Rep. Robert Foley (R-Wells).

The bill aims to protect children from the potential harms of AI chatbots that can be used to simulate human conversation and companionship without providing any connection to real humans.

Under the current text, the bill would require any “deployer” of a chatbot to prevent AI that simulates humanity from being used by minors and to ensure that chatbots are primarily intended to simulate companionship.

While the bill may be well-intentioned and aimed at addressing legitimate concerns, it also seems to impose significant burdens on Mainers.

In order to enforce the requirements and avoid potential civil penalties permitted under the bill, “deployers” would be required to implement an age verification system for users.

The bill does not specify how that age verification would be used, but adult Mainers would be forced to verify their ages in some way before accessing AI products. Verification could invade the privacy of Mainers by requiring a scan of an ID showing a date of birth or a facial scan to assess the age of the user.

“In order to prove the age of their user base, deployers may have to keep user IDs on file. Forcing AI deployers to create large databases of Maine citizens’ IDs could prove a tempting target for hackers,” said the Maine Policy Institute in its testimony against the bill.

The bill includes some language seemingly aimed at protecting user privacy by limiting what information can be collected by an AI company to that which can be used for an undefined “legitimate purpose.”

Nevertheless, it also requires AI “deployers” to include some type of monitoring software so that they can respond to and report the situation to authorities if a user appears to intend self-harm or harm against another. It is not clear how this could be done without violating the privacy of all users.

Another sticking point for the Maine Policy Institute was the power the bill gives to the Attorney General to establish rules required to enforce its statutes, without providing guidance.

“Although the delegation of rulemaking authority from the Legislature to executive agencies is common, the typical process typically requires some intelligible principle leading the agency to be able to follow the Legislature’s direction. This bill is shockingly lacking in providing such direction. Any language needed to implement this bill should be included in the bill itself,” The Maine Policy Instiutute added.

Gramlich appears aware of at least some of the flaws in her bill and promised to provide an amendment that will address some concerns and vagueness, though it seems that it will still pose privacy issues.

The Maine branch of the Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services testified in favor of the bill and another bill related to AI use in therapy.

“These bills do not reject technology. They embrace it—responsibly. These bills
establish clear, common-sense frameworks that allows licensed professionals to use
AI as a tool for administrative support while ensuring it never replaces the therapeutic
relationship for children or adults,” said the group.

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