Laws & Policy
SAFE BOTs Act
A House chatbot bill, H.R. 6489, folded into the House-passed KIDS Act package. It would add disclosures and safety rules for minors. Not law.
As of September 26, 2026, the SAFE BOTs Act is not a standalone law. A version was included in H.R. 7757, which the House passed on June 29, 2026. That package is not enacted.
- Policymakers and staff
- Businesses
- Parents
This is general information, not legal advice.
What parents should know
The SAFE BOTs Act started as House bill 6489. A version was included in H.R. 7757, the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, which the House passed on June 29, 2026. The Senate has not enacted that package. Chatbot disclosures in the House text are a proposal, not a federal duty you can already cite as law.
On this page
What is the SAFE BOTs Act?
Use Congress.gov for H.R. 6489 and for H.R. 7757. The KIDS Act is the House package that also carries other kids' online safety pieces, including a COPPA 2.0 subtitle. Public descriptions of the SAFE BOTs piece say it would route minors toward crisis resources when they talk about self-harm. The House-passed package is the text to quote if you need a proposed duty. A committee draft and the engrossed House bill can differ.
House passage is not enactment. As of September 26, 2026, H.R. 7757 is not law. The COPPA 2.0 page records that the Senate received the House bill and referred it to committee in July 2026. Re-check Congress.gov before you treat either bill as current law.
Why the SAFE BOTs Act matters
Vendors sometimes comply early with a House bill and call it federal law. That overclaims. It can still be sensible to show a crisis resource and to say the software is software. Those product choices do not depend on this bill passing.
These state laws are not copies of each other. A duty in one state may be missing in the next, and a signature date is not always the day the duties bind. Whether Congress will override some of them is a live debate, described on the federal AI preemption page. Until a federal statute does that, read the state text that applies to you.
How it shows up in practice
- A slide says SAFE BOTs is law because the House passed the KIDS Act. The correction is that the Senate has not enacted it.
- A school policy cites H.R. 7757 as pending and cites COPPA as current law.
- A crisis link is built because the product needs one, not because this bill already requires it.
How HeyOtto helps
The SAFE BOTs Act would add chatbot disclosures and safety rules for minors. It is not law, so HeyOtto does not claim it. Crisis resources already appear in the chat when a child shows distress, and a parent can read the chats and get an alert.
- Parents can read chats in the parent dashboard.
- Distress produces an alert and crisis resources, not an automatic call to emergency services.
- HeyOtto does not claim this statute is already satisfied.
For families
Try freeFAQs
Is the SAFE BOTs Act law?
No. As of September 26, 2026, it is not enacted. A version traveled inside H.R. 7757, which the House passed on June 29, 2026. Check Congress.gov for anything after the review date.
How is it related to the KIDS Act?
H.R. 7757 is the House package. Public descriptions say it includes SAFE BOTs language along with other kids' safety subtitles. Read the House text rather than a single bill number if you need the proposed duty.
Does HeyOtto already show crisis resources?
Yes. If a child shows distress, HeyOtto shows crisis resources in the chat and alerts the parent. HeyOtto does not auto-contact emergency services. That is not a claim of compliance with an unenacted bill.
Sources
Last reviewed September 26, 2026. Law entries are reviewed every quarter.
This is general information, not legal advice.