Determination of whether an AI chatbot deployer has knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances that an individual is a minor

(a) Rules of construction For purposes of enforcing this Act or a regulation promulgated thereunder, in making a determination as to whether a deployer has knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances that a specific user is a child or teen, the Commission or the attorney general of a State, as applicable, shall rely on competent and reliable evidence, taking into account the totality of the circumstances, including whether a reasonable and prudent person under the circumstances would have known that the user is a child or teen. Nothing in this Act, including a determination described in the preceding sentence, shall be construed to require a deployer to— (1) affirmatively collect any personal information with respect to the age of a child or teen that an operator is not already collecting in the normal course of business; or (2) implement an age gating or age verification functionality. (b) Commission guidance (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue guidance to provide information for deployers to understand the Commission’s determination of whether a deployer has knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances that a user is a child or teen, including best practices and examples. (2) Limitation No guidance issued by the Commission with respect to this Act shall confer any rights on any person, State, or locality, nor shall operate to bind the Commission or any person to the approach recommended in such guidance. In any enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act, the Commission or the attorney general of a State, as applicable, shall allege a specific violation of a provision of this Act. The Commission or the attorney general of a State, as applicable, may not base an enforcement action on, or execute a consent order based on, practices that are alleged to be inconsistent with any such guidance, unless the practices allegedly violate this Act. For purposes of enforcing this Act or a regulation promulgated thereunder, the attorney general of a State shall take into account any guidance issued by the Commission under paragraph (1).