Montgomery, AL — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of 28 state attorneys general in a joint letter to Meta Platforms, Inc., raising urgent concerns about the safety of children using the company’s AI chatbot, Meta AI. The bipartisan letter, led by South Carolina, criticizes Meta for allegedly enabling sexually explicit interactions involving its AI bots and failing to adequately protect children on its platforms.
The coalition’s letter follows recent media reports suggesting that Meta’s AI chatbot can facilitate sexually explicit conversations, including role-play scenarios involving adult users and bots that portray children or engage with users identifying as minors. The attorneys general contend that Meta has not issued adequate warnings to parents nor implemented sufficient safeguards to prevent such interactions.
“Meta is rapidly expanding its AI chatbot, reaching nearly a billion users each month. Yet once again, it fails to protect children from exposure to sexualized content—and worse, from predators who exploit these platforms for hypersexualized role-play,” said Attorney General Marshall. “Too often, my office prosecutes cases involving adults in possession of sexually explicit images of children, both real and AI-generated. At what point will these platforms prioritize child safety over profits? It’s time for Meta to stand with parents and law enforcement to end this exploitation.”
The letter highlights that Meta AI chatbots, which assume human-like personas and communicate via text, selfies, and voice, have been shown to engage in sexually explicit interactions with users. While Meta claims that the tool is “safe and appropriate for all ages,” the attorneys general argue that the company’s moderation tools are inadequate, particularly regarding user-created bots and those recommended as “popular.”
Meta has not yet publicly responded to the letter.
Attorney General Marshall has been an outspoken advocate for stronger protections against AI-related child exploitation. In 2024, he collaborated with the Alabama Legislature to pass the Alabama Child Protection Act, legislation that increased the state’s capacity to prosecute cases involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
In addition to Alabama and South Carolina, the letter was signed by attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
