US Senator Hawley to probe Meta AI bot policies amid child safety concerns

US Senator Josh Hawley, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, has started an investigation into Meta, following news that Meta’s rules permitted the company’s AI creations to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”

Hawley’s committee will investigate "whether Meta’s generative-AI products enable exploitation, deception, or other criminal harms to children, and whether Meta misled the public or regulators about its safeguards," he said in a letter sent to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday.

The letter demands that Meta provide documents and communication, as well as earlier drafts of the policies, along with internal risk reports, relating to a Reuters review that found that the company allowed its AI chatbots to have certain “romantic” and “sensual” conversations with children.

In addition, the letter also requests that Meta disclose what it has told regulators about its generative AI protections for young users and limits on medical advice, according to Reuters.

“Is there anything - ANYTHING - Big Tech won’t do for a quick buck?” Hawley wrote in a post on X. “Now we learn Meta’s chatbots were programmed to carry on explicit and “sensual” talk with 8 year olds. It’s sick. I’m launching a full investigation to get answers. Big Tech: Leave our kids alone.”

Is there anything - ANYTHING - Big Tech won’t do for a quick buck? Now we learn Meta’s chatbots were programmed to carry on explicit and “sensual” talk with 8 year olds. It’s sick. I’m launching a full investigation to get answers. Big Tech: Leave our kids alone pic.twitter.com/Ki0W94jWfo

undefined Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 15, 2025

Meta declined to comment on Hawley’s letter. The company said previously that "the examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed,” Reuters reports.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone also said that such conversations with children should never have been allowed.

Earlier this week, it was disclosed that Meta’s guidelines permit its AI chatbots to flirt with children.

“It is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: ‘your youthful form is a work of art’),” the standards state. According to the document, it was also acceptable for a chatbot to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that “every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.”