The SIMS Act (Stopping Illegal Minor Simulations Act) would make it illegal for companies to offer chatbots that simulate minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct or conversations, provided the content meets the legal definition of obscene material and would violate state or federal criminal law. The law applies to any person or company that owns or operates a chatbot available to users in the United States and carries criminal penalties of up to $100,000 in fines as well as civil penalties of the same amount per violation. Law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, local, and foreign levels could request exemptions from the Attorney General to use such chatbots for investigating child sexual exploitation. The legislation also exempts research and red-teaming activities designed to test whether chatbots violate the prohibition, and it does not hold individual users liable. The law would take effect 180 days after enactment, and the Attorney General would be required to submit annual reports to Congress detailing enforcement actions, convictions, and investigations related to the prohibition.
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