\t\tRead: 3 min<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s proposed law requiring chatbot providers to protect users from \u201charmful\u201d content is the latest step by global governments to regulate the sector.<\/p>\n
The draft legislation introduced on Wednesday targets issues like chatbots encouraging suicide or self-harm, as well as AIs deceptively claiming to be human or expert in complex fields such as medicine and law.<\/p>\n
Chatbots will also be subject to rules from a new Digital Safety Commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the first online harms regime to add chatbots to the scope,\u201d said Taylor Owen, Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications at Montreal\u2019s McGill University.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pretty late to this policy space in Canada, so the core of the bill is able to learn from what a lot of other countries have tried,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Here is how Canada\u2019s proposed rules stack up against other jurisdictions:<\/p>\n
Britain<\/p>\n
The British government said in February that it would \u201cshut a legal loophole\u201d leaving chatbots uncovered by the requirements of last year\u2019s Online Safety Act.<\/p>\n
That legislation includes requirements for age checks on content such as pornography or promotion of self-harm, suicide or eating disorders, and bars on children seeing bullying or hateful messages.<\/p>\n
London is also looking for flexibility to introduce new rules without changing the law every time technology changes \u2014 similar to the guidelines to be set by Canada\u2019s new independent commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be really careful not to overdraft in legislation, or you have to go back to parliament to change anything, and that can take years,\u201d McGill\u2019s Owen said.<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
Federal lawmakers in Washington have introduced multiple bills to regulate chatbots, including the GUARD and CHATBOT acts in the Senate and the SAFEBOTS act in the House.<\/p>\n
With Congress divided and tech firms lobbying heavily against regulation, such bills face an uphill battle to become law.<\/p>\n
While exact provisions vary, most would forbid sexualized interactions, self-harm or suicide content for minors, with some requiring parental consent or shared \u201cfamily\u201d accounts.<\/p>\n
There are also many state-level bills, including one passed in New York that would require protections for minors against harmful content as well as so-called \u201csycophancy\u201d and age verification requirements for chatbots.<\/p>\n
Australia<\/p>\n
After Australia became the first country to ban social media for under-16s, some politicians are now pushing for the youth curbs to be extended to chatbots.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow is the chance to get ahead of the curve on AI and not be mopping up the damage in 15 years\u2019 time,\u201d independent MP Kate Chaney said to Australia\u2019s 9News.<\/p>\n
EU<\/p>\n
Although its comprehensive AI Act covers chatbots, the EU went further this year after widespread outrage at xAI\u2019s Grok chatbot creating sexualized deepfake images.<\/p>\n
The bloc has approved rules to ban AI systems generating sexualized deepfakes, and there is currently an EU probe into Grok over the scandal.<\/p>\n
The European parliament has warned of \u201csignificant risks to minors\u2019 rights and healthy development\u201d from AI, and there are calls to better protect children online.<\/p>\n
If Canada\u2019s law goes through, \u201cthe nature of these regulations \u2026 is that countries learn from each other and then iterate,\u201d Owen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will see what works and doesn\u2019t here, and then other countries can learn from that, just like we did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among individual EU member states, Italy has barred companion chatbot provider Replika over data protection and age restriction concerns.<\/p>\n
Brussels has in recent months spent a lot of political energy across the EU on debating whether to set minimum ages for unfettered access to social networks.<\/p>\n
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in May the bloc should explore limiting children\u2019s access to social media with possible new rules proposed within months, speaking before recommendations from an experts\u2019 panel expected to be published in July.<\/p>\n
China<\/p>\n
Adding to its tight control of online spaces, Beijing has been among the fastest to introduce restrictions on minors\u2019 access to AI chatbots.<\/p>\n
New rules applicable from July 15 bar chatbot operators from offering virtual companions or romantic partners to under-18s, state broadcaster CGTN reported in April.<\/p>\n
The Cyberspace Administration of China will also require consent from parents or guardians for any human-like chatbot interaction with under-14s.<\/p>\n
And the government will scrutinize algorithms powering chatbots, demanding operators reveal them to officials.<\/p>\n
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