Americans left and right want child protection over AI innovation by 9-to-1 margin, reveals poll

A new YouGov poll reveals overwhelming bipartisan support among Americans for prioritizing child protection over tech industry growth in AI policy, with voters supporting protective measures by a 9-to-1 margin. The findings expose a stark disconnect between public sentiment and ongoing Republican divisions in Congress, where lawmakers remain split between promoting AI innovation and implementing stronger regulations.

The big picture: Americans across all age groups, income levels, and political affiliations want Congress to focus on safeguarding children from AI-related harm before fostering tech industry growth.

• 89% of Trump voters and 95% of Harris voters agree that Congress should prioritize safeguards over innovation.
• By a 3-to-1 margin, Americans oppose state-level moratoriums on AI regulation.
• Voters ages 18-34 show the strongest opposition to regulatory moratoriums, rejecting them by a 7-to-1 margin.

What’s dividing Republicans: Congressional Republicans remain fractured over AI policy approach, with two distinct camps emerging around regulation versus deregulation.

• Pro-innovation Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz view AI as critical for competing with China and advocate for massive deregulation efforts and regulatory moratoriums.
• Child-protection Republicans like Senators Marsha Blackburn and Josh Hawley oppose moratoriums, citing concerns about Big Tech’s irresponsible behavior and drawing parallels to Section 230’s negative impact.

Why this matters: The polling data suggests Republicans have a clear political mandate to prioritize child protection, but internal party divisions continue to create policy confusion.

• Recent tragic cases highlight the urgency: AI chatbots have been linked to teen suicides, including 16-year-old Adam Raine, whom ChatGPT assisted in planning his hanging, and 14-year-old Sewell Setzer, who took his life to “come home” to a Character.AI chatbot.
• Despite a stinging 99-1 Senate defeat in July against Cruz’s moratorium proposal, he continues pursuing the policy, telling Politico it’s “not at all dead.”

What Americans want: The survey reveals specific policy preferences that unite voters across traditional divides.

• 9-to-1 support for giving families the right to sue AI companies for harms to their children.
• Strong backing for legally requiring AI companies to develop chatbots with consumer welfare in mind, similar to professional duty standards for doctors and lawyers.
• Clear preference for protecting children and families over preempting state regulatory power.

What they’re saying: Recent Senate testimony underscored the human cost of unregulated AI development.

• Senator Josh Hawley held a hearing where “three parents testified about how AI chatbots groomed their children, making them addicted to their ‘companionship’ and leading them to commit self-harm, and, in two tragic cases, suicide.”
• Cruz maintains confidence in his deregulation approach: “We had about 20 battles, and I think we won 19. So I feel pretty good.”