EveryAILaw.comDoes Washington AI Companion Chatbots Act (ESHB 2225) require Risk Assessment?
Washington • enacted
Yes — 1 provision
Requirements at a glance
This regulation imposes 5 specific requirements for Risk Assessment across 1 provision:
- Protocol as a precondition — An operator may not make available or deploy an AI companion chatbot unless it maintains and implements a protocol for detecting and addressing suicidal ideation or expressions of self-harm by users (Sec. 5(1))
- Detection methods — The protocol must include reasonable methods for identifying expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm, including eating disorders (Sec. 5(2)(a))
- Crisis referral — Provide automated or human-mediated responses referring users to appropriate crisis resources, including a suicide hotline or crisis text line (Sec. 5(2)(b))
- Content prevention — Implement reasonable measures to prevent generation of content encouraging or describing how to commit self-harm (Sec. 5(2)(c))
- Self-harm definition — Self-harm means intentional self-injury, with or without the intent to cause death (Sec. 2(5))
Suicide and Self-Harm Response Protocol #
Structured as a gate on deployment: no protocol, no chatbot. Washington is the only one of the three 2026 companion statutes to name eating disorders explicitly within the detection duty (Sec. 5(2)(a)), which pulls disordered-eating content into a self-harm safety pipeline that most moderation stacks treat separately. Unlike Oregon, no specific hotline is mandated — "a suicide hotline or crisis text line" is sufficient.
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Protocol as a precondition | An operator may not make available or deploy an AI companion chatbot unless it maintains and implements a protocol for detecting and addressing suicidal ideation or expressions of self-harm by users (Sec. 5(1)) |
| Detection methods | The protocol must include reasonable methods for identifying expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm, including eating disorders (Sec. 5(2)(a)) |
| Crisis referral | Provide automated or human-mediated responses referring users to appropriate crisis resources, including a suicide hotline or crisis text line (Sec. 5(2)(b)) |
| Content prevention | Implement reasonable measures to prevent generation of content encouraging or describing how to commit self-harm (Sec. 5(2)(c)) |
| Self-harm definition | Self-harm means intentional self-injury, with or without the intent to cause death (Sec. 2(5)) |
Penalties
| Violation | Fine |
|---|---|
| Consumer Protection Act predicate | Violation is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce under ch. 19.86 RCW (Sec. 6); no penalty amount is set in this act |
| Attorney General enforcement | Injunctive relief and civil penalties under RCW 19.86.080 and RCW 19.86.140 |
| Private right of action | Under RCW 19.86.090 — actual damages, discretionary trebling capped at $25,000, plus attorney fees and costs |