Washington Children's Privacy Laws (2026)

AI Companion Chatbots law (ESHB 2225) · ESHB 2225 (Chapter 168, Laws of 2026); the act carries no short title

Enacted, not yet effective: Signed into law; its effective date is still in the future. · AI companion · effective 2027-01-01 · binds operators

Ages: Minors under 18; the minor duties trigger on operator knowledge or a chatbot directed to minors

Requires: AI companion chatbot operators must disclose non-human status at the start of an interaction and at least every three hours while it continues, tightening to at least every hour of continuous interaction for known minors or minor-directed chatbots, the strictest cadence of the 2026 companion statutes (Idaho, Iowa and Oregon all use three hours). Operators must block sexually explicit content for minors, avoid eight listed manipulative engagement techniques, from return prompts to soliciting gifts and in-app purchases, and maintain a publicly disclosed suicide and self-harm protocol that expressly covers eating disorders and publishes the prior year's crisis referral count. A violation is a per se unfair or deceptive act under Washington's Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW, so the CPA supplies the remedies, including its private suit vehicle; the act creates no standalone right of action.

Litigation: None. Not challenged; no AI companion-chatbot law in any state has been sued over.

Entry last reviewed 2026-07-24