Attorney General Tong Joins Bipartisan Coalition of 42 Attorneys General in Letter to AI Software Companies Demanding Safeguards to Protect Vulnerable Residents from Harmful[...]

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12/12/2025

Attorney General Tong Joins Bipartisan Coalition of 42 Attorneys General in Letter to AI Software Companies Demanding Safeguards to Protect Vulnerable Residents from Harmful Interactions with Bots

Coalition cites chatbot interactions that led to mental health struggles, incidents of self-harm, violence

(Hartford, CT) - Attorney General William Tong this week joined a coalition of 42 attorneys general sending a letter to OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and other major artificial intelligence software production and distribution companies demanding more quality control and other safeguards over chatbot products.

While recognizing the potential AI has to implement and influence positive change, the coalition is demanding the companies take stronger action to protect users on AI platforms. The coalition points to numerous incidents of harm - particularly affecting vulnerable populations - involving unregulated interactions with chatbots.

In a letter to Anthropic, Apple, Chai AI, Character Technologies, Google, Luka, Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Replika, and xAI, the attorneys general outline numerous safeguards that should be implemented, including robust safety testing, recall procedures, and clear warnings to consumers.

"AI companies are in an arms race to deploy ever more powerful, profitable and capable technology, with little regard to the consequences to us, our children and our society. This letter represents the bipartisan consensus of nearly every attorney general from across the country-Big Tech needs to answer for the harm they have already caused and commit to strong reforms to ensure the safety of their products," said Attorney General Tong. "I expect attorneys general to remain active and engaged on this in the coming year, including in defending the rights of our sovereign states to enact commonsense safeguards and regulations to fill the inexcusable federal vacuum."

The coalition - led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell - is asking the companies to schedule meetings with attorneys general and to commit to changes by January 16, 2026.

"This world-changing technology is exciting and alluring on many levels, but it is also extremely dangerous when unbridled, as we have seen in tragedies all across the country," Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. "An impressionable child today already faces significant stressors as the digital world continues to expand, and such poisonous interactions rooted to chatbots must immediately cease. Producers, promoters, and distributors of this software have a responsibility to ensure products are safe before going to market, and track behaviors and resulting harm from those products."

Among the tragedies outlined in the letter are:

• the death of a 76-year-old New Jersey resident;
• the death of a 35-year-old Florida resident;
• the murder-suicide of a 56-year-old Connecticut resident and his 83-year-old mother;
• the suicide of a 14-year-old Florida resident;
• the suicide of a 16-year-old California resident.

Seventy-two percent of teenagers reported having interactions with an A.I. chatbot, and nearly 40 percent of parents with children ages 5 through 8, have reported that their child has used A.I.

Overall, nearly three-quarters of parents are concerned about A.I.'s impact on children.

The coalition alleges that developers' mission to be first may be happening while putting children's health at risk.
"Our support for innovation and America's leadership in A.I. does not extend to using our residents, especially children, as guinea pigs while A.I. companies experiment with new applications," the letter states.

Joining Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and West Virginia in signing the letter are Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

Read the letter here.

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton [email protected]

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318 [email protected]

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