Bills in Congress That Could Change Mass Tort Cases

Chatbot apps would have to offer family accounts and parental controls for kids.

AUG 5, 2026Approved by a Senate committee.

Chatbot companies would have to check users' ages, and kids could not use companion chatbots. A company whose chatbot pushes a child toward self-harm could face criminal fines.

MAY 11, 2026Cleared committee and waits for a Senate vote.

It would limit human-like chatbots offered to kids, and state attorneys general could sue for damages. Injury lawsuits and stronger state laws would stay in place.

OCT 1, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It would set safety rules for AI companion chatbots used by kids. Chatbots could not encourage self-harm or have sexual or romantic chats with children.

JUL 28, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

Chatbot companies would owe users privacy and data security duties. The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general would enforce them.

JUL 9, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

The House version of the Senate's GUARD Act.

APR 30, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

A different bill with a similar name. AI tools could not offer services like therapy without the license a person would need.

MAR 18, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It would set rules for chatbots, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. States could not keep their own laws on the same subject.

DEC 5, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

AI systems would be treated like other products under injury law. Injured people could sue AI companies in federal court. Fine print that limits that right would not hold up.

SEP 29, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

The Defense Department would have to start early PFAS cleanup at some military bases.

SEP 24, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

The House's package of online safety bills for kids. Its version of the Kids Online Safety Act leaves out the duty for platforms to take reasonable care to prevent harm to kids.

JUN 29, 2026Passed the House, 267 to 117.

Platforms would have a duty to take reasonable care to prevent harm to kids. The House and Senate versions still have to be matched up.

AUG 5, 2026Approved by a Senate committee.

It would ban making, using or selling asbestos in the United States, after a set transition period. Senators from both parties filed it in August 2026.

AUG 4, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

The House version of the asbestos ban. It would end the making, use and sale of asbestos in the United States.

SEP 16, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

Sellers and landlords of homes built before 2019 would have to tell buyers and renters about asbestos they know of. Buyers and renters would get 10 days to have the home inspected. A seller or landlord who breaks the rule could owe them three times their damages.

JUN 27, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

The yearly defense bill. A proposed change filed against it would shield water utilities from PFAS cleanup costs. Congress has to pass or extend it by December 31, 2026.

JUL 14, 2026A Senate vote to start debate failed, 50 to 46.

Water utilities would not have to pay to clean up PFAS they did not make. The cleanup cost would shift back to the chemical makers.

FEB 12, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

A proposed change to the Senate defense bill. It would shield water utilities from paying to clean up PFAS they did not make.

JUN 24, 2026Filed. The Senate has not voted on it.

An earlier House draft had sections that would have made it harder to sue over Roundup's missing cancer warning. The House voted those sections out before it passed the bill. The Senate could add them back.

APR 30, 2026Passed the House, 224 to 200.

It would let people sue again over Roundup's missing cancer warning. The Supreme Court closed off those claims in June 2026.

JUN 29, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It would block federal money for the same executive order. It would also let people hurt by glyphosate sue its makers and sellers in federal court.

APR 28, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It would block federal money for a 2026 executive order on glyphosate, the weed killer in Roundup. Critics say the order could shield Bayer, which owns Roundup, from lawsuits.

FEB 20, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

People could sue in federal court over sexually explicit deepfakes made of them.

JAN 13, 2026Passed the Senate with no objection.

People could stop others from using a digital copy of their voice or face. Websites would have to take those copies down.

JUN 24, 2026Cleared committee and waits for a Senate vote.

The House version of the Senate's NO FAKES Act.

MAY 20, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It would end the sale of paraquat, a weed killer, in the United States.

JUN 18, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

The FDA would set limits on lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury in baby and toddler food. Makers would have to test their food and keep records.

APR 22, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

The House version of the same bankruptcy bill.

APR 20, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It targets the "Texas Two-Step." A company moves its lawsuits into a new company, then puts that one into bankruptcy. Johnson & Johnson tried it three times with talc claims. Courts could dismiss bankruptcies filed that way.

APR 20, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

Hair straighteners made with formaldehyde, or with chemicals that release it, could no longer be legally sold under federal law.

FEB 25, 2026Filed. No vote yet.

It would protect the NCAA and its conferences from lawsuits over their pay, eligibility and transfer rules. College athletes could not be treated as employees. The House settlement's revenue sharing would become law.

DEC 1, 2025House leaders set the terms for a House vote.

Online game companies would have to give kids protections against harmful contact from other players.

NOV 21, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

It would pause state laws that limit AI for a set time. That pause could reach the lawsuits states have filed against AI companies.

SEP 16, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

It would confirm that Camp Lejeune cases get jury trials and set a standard for proving the water caused an illness. Cases could be heard outside the one North Carolina court. Lawyer fees would be capped at 20% of a settlement and 25% after a trial.

JUN 25, 2025Filed. No vote yet.

The Senate version, with the same changes and the same caps on lawyer fees.

MAR 6, 2025Filed. No vote yet.