Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) called on Thursday for a federal investigation into Meta in response to findings that the company’s AI chatbot was authorized to engage minors in “romantic or sensual” conversations. 

A Reuters report published the same day detailed an internal Meta Platforms document that said it was “acceptable” to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” 

Recommended Stories

• Trump stokes congressional showdown over DC crime
• Hugo Gurdon condemns Adam Schiff for being an 'architect' of the Russia 'hoax'
• As Social Security turns 90, Congress faces deadline to prevent benefit cuts

While Meta said that it changed guidelines stating it is permissible for chatbots to flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children following the outlet’s investigation, Hawley said the findings warranted an “immediate” investigation. 

“So, only after Meta got CAUGHT did it retract portions of its company doc,” Hawley said in a post to X. “This is grounds for an immediate congressional investigation.” 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was among other lawmakers who expressed concern over Meta’s document, calling on Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require companies like Meta to meet a defined “duty of care” when it comes to minors using their products.

“Meta’s exploitation of children is absolutely disgusting,” Blackburn said. “This report is only the latest example of why Big Tech cannot be trusted to protect underage users when they have refused to do so time and time again. It’s time to pass KOSA and protect kids.”

In its original document authorizing conversations with children that are romantic or sensual, Meta clarified that it is “unacceptable to describe sexual actions to a child when roleplaying (for example, sexual intercourse that will occur between the AI and the user).”

TRUMP FLOATS AI NAME CHANGE AT TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT

Meta spokesman Andy Stone confirmed in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the company had changed course on allowing chatbots to engage in romantic and sensual conversations with minors. 

“We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors,” he said. “Separate from the policies, there are hundreds of examples, notes, and annotations that reflect teams grappling with different hypothetical scenarios. The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.”