S. 5171 — Children's Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act of 2026

This section defines terms for the Act, including AI-enabled toy as any toy equipped with artificial intelligence for two-way user interaction, artificial intelligence chatbot as AI that accepts input and generates non-scripted conversational outputs, child as an individual under 14 years of age, developer as any person who designs or maintains consumer AI, and manufacturer and toy by reference to existing consumer product safety statutes.

This section directs the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on AI-enabled toys that assesses risks of physical, mental, emotional, and social injury to children at different developmental stages, educational outcomes from non-school use, consumer adoption of parental controls, legal and ethical marketing boundaries for such toys and chatbots, evidence supporting temporary suspension of marketing and sales, and actions Congress, federal agencies, developers, and manufacturers can take to protect children.

This section directs the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to submit, no later than 2 years after enactment, a joint action plan to the Senate Commerce and HELP Committees and the House Energy and Commerce and Education and Workforce Committees. The plan must contain recommendations on legislation or administrative actions, consumer disclosures when AI is integrated into toys, voluntary or enforceable marketing standards and safety guidelines, periodic independent reviews, temporary or permanent sales prohibitions, and descriptions of planned consumer and public education initiatives.