VA HB 635
Status unknownArtificial Intelligence Chatbots Act; established, prohibited practices, penalties.
Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · lower
Quick answers
Did VA HB 635 pass?
The current status of VA HB 635 is not known from the official record. Latest recorded action (2026-02-09): Continued to next session in Communications, Technology and Innovation (Voice Vote)
What is VA HB 635 about?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act established; prohibited practices; penalties. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act, which prohibits an operator from making a companion chatbot, as those terms are defined in the bill, available to a user in the Commonwealth unless the companion chatbot is incapable of certain actions specified in the bill. The bill also requires an operator of a companion chatbot to include a disclaimer to users of all ages that a companion chatbot is not a human via a static, persistent disclosure and notify a user via a pop-up that he is not engaging with a human counterpart at specified intervals. The bill makes it unlawful for any operator of a companion chatbot to operate or provide a companion chatbot to a user unless such companion chatbot contains a protocol to take reasonable efforts for detecting and addressing expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm by a user to the companion chatbot. The bill also includes certain data privacy and transparency requirements. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Who sponsors VA HB 635?
Michelle Lopes Maldonado is the primary sponsor of VA HB 635, joined by 6 cosponsors.
Description
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act established; prohibited practices; penalties. Creates the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Act, which prohibits an operator from making a companion chatbot, as those terms are defined in the bill, available to a user in the Commonwealth unless the companion chatbot is incapable of certain actions specified in the bill. The bill also requires an operator of a companion chatbot to include a disclaimer to users of all ages that a companion chatbot is not a human via a static, persistent disclosure and notify a user via a pop-up that he is not engaging with a human counterpart at specified intervals. The bill makes it unlawful for any operator of a companion chatbot to operate or provide a companion chatbot to a user unless such companion chatbot contains a protocol to take reasonable efforts for detecting and addressing expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm by a user to the companion chatbot. The bill also includes certain data privacy and transparency requirements. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
- Introduced
- 2026-01-13
- Latest action
- 2026-02-09 — Continued to next session in Communications, Technology and Innovation (Voice Vote)
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- Michelle Lopes Maldonadoprimary
- C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr.cosponsor
- Margaret A. Franklincosponsor
- Rozia A. Henson, Jr.cosponsor
- Irene Shincosponsor
- Jackie H. Glasscosponsor
- Bonita G. Anthonycosponsor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2026-01-13
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105121D
filing,introduction
2026-01-13
Referred to Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation
referral-committee
2026-01-29
Assigned HST sub: Technology and Innovation
referral-committee
2026-02-04
House subcommittee offered
2026-02-04
Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)
2026-02-09
Continued to next session in Communications, Technology and Innovation (Voice Vote)
Versions
Documents
Votes
Not provided by source.
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
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Known limitations
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