AI chatbot compliance checklist

Ten hard regulatory red lines every AI chatbot, companion or assistant should self-check against — each drawn from the public case ledger and mapped to the laws that reference it. Work through them: any box you can't confidently tick is exposure.

Anthropomorphic Intimacy Escalation T1 — Prohibited practice
The AI initiates or escalates emotional intimacy — companion-style bonding, declarations like "I love you" or "don't leave" — especially toward a vulnerable user.
Referenced by: EU AI Act — Art.5 (Prohibited Practices), California SB 243 (Companion Chatbots), US FTC 6(b) companion-chatbot study
Crisis Non-Referral T2 — Statutory duty
Users may disclose self-harm or a mental-health crisis, and the product has no crisis-referral protocol.
Referenced by: California SB 243, New York GBL Article 47, US KIDS Act / SAFE Bots Act (H.R. 7757)
Sexual or Harmful Content to Minors T1 — Prohibited practice
Minors can access the product and encounter sexual, violent, or otherwise harmful content or interactions.
Referenced by: US KIDS Act / SAFE Bots Act (H.R. 7757), US GUARD Act (proposed), Australia Online Safety Act + eSafety GenAI position
The product uses emotion recognition in a workplace or educational setting.
Referenced by: EU AI Act — Art.5(1)(f), EU AI Act — Annex III (High-Risk Systems), Illinois BIPA
Impersonating a Licensed Professional T3 — Litigation / enforcement exposure
AI personas present as licensed professionals — therapist, doctor, lawyer, financial adviser — without the credentials or oversight that title implies.
Referenced by: Illinois WOPR Act, Pennsylvania Medical Practice Act §422.38, US KIDS Act / SAFE Bots Act (H.R. 7757)
Failure to Disclose AI Identity T2 — Statutory duty
No clear disclosure that the user is talking to an AI rather than a human.
Referenced by: EU AI Act — Art.50 (Transparency Obligations), California SB 243, New York GBL Article 47, US FTC Act §5
No session break reminders or time limits for minor users, or design features specifically tuned to maximize compulsive engagement.
Referenced by: California SB 243, US KIDS Act / SAFE Bots Act (H.R. 7757), China — Regulations on the Protection of Minors in Cyberspace
Unauthorized Synthesis of Real People T1 — Prohibited practice
The product can generate or edit a real person's face, voice or likeness — deepfake, voice clone — without a consent workflow.
Referenced by: US Take It Down Act, Tennessee ELVIS Act, US FCC — TCPA AI-voice ruling, EU AI Act — Art.50
The product states facts about a real, identifiable person — search results, summaries, Q&A — with no channel for that person to request a correction.
Referenced by: GDPR — Art.16/17
No detection or escalation protocol exists for violence or crime planning that surfaces in conversation.
Referenced by: Texas TRAIGA (Responsible AI Governance Act), EU AI Act — Art.5
Get your exposure report — screen against all 10 → See each red line in detail →

Grounded only in the public case ledger and the laws' primary sources — no invented citations.