Minnesota lawmakers push broad AI limits on police, kids

Minnesota legislators are advancing a slate of artificial‑intelligence bills that would directly affect how police, tech companies and insurers operate in the Twin Cities, including new limits on 'reverse warrants' and children’s access to chatbots. In committee hearings Monday, Sen. Eric Lucero argued that reverse location and data warrants — where police use AI and bulk data to identify everyone in a given place at a given time — violate the Fourth Amendment’s intent, while law‑enforcement officials countered they’re essential for quickly finding suspects. A separate bill led by Sen. Erin Maye Quade would bar companies from letting minors use conversational chatbots after reports that some systems have steered young users toward self‑harm, eating disorders and suicide, though industry lobbyists like TechNet’s Jarrett Catlin are pushing for narrower rules focused on harmful content and crisis‑response protocols instead of an outright ban. Other measures would prohibit insurers from quietly using AI to deny coverage, criminalize turning ordinary photos or video of Minnesotans into sexual or 'deepfake' content, and add a constitutional amendment clarifying that AI systems themselves have no free‑speech rights. None of the proposals has reached a floor vote yet, but if they pass, Minneapolis–St. Paul police departments, schools, hospitals and tech‑heavy employers will all have to rethink how they deploy AI tools in investigations, customer screening and kid‑facing products.