Hemant Gupta and Emma Pelkey, Members of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, were quoted in Law360 Healthcare Authority, in “Utah Targets Mental Health Chatbots as States Scrutinize AI,” by Dan McKay. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
An unusual new law in Utah zeroes in on the growing world of mental health chatbots, establishing privacy and advertising guardrails for the kind of intimate conversations a patient might share with a virtual therapist. …
"It's going to be a lot of watch and wait to see what other states do, and they're probably all looking at Utah to see how this works before they roll out their own," said Hemant Gupta, a Tennessee-based attorney at Epstein Becker Green, where he works with healthcare and technology companies.
"I'm sure there are going to be, as a result of Utah's push, some lobbying efforts by the chatbot companies to affect how other states legislate this," he said. …
For example, Utah's disclosure requirement — calling for a clear, conspicuous notice — isn't "too burdensome," and AI suppliers may just incorporate it into their products across the country, Gupta said.
The Doc's Bot is Here, Too …
Compounding the problem are a lack of access to mental health providers and growing rates of depression and anxiety in children and teens.
"The reality is that we have a youth mental health crisis," said Emma Pelkey, an Oregon-based attorney for Epstein Becker Green who counsels healthcare clients. And "there just simply are not enough mental health professionals to go around to meet the needs."
Gupta said young people may put too much trust in what a chatbot says, a risk to which regulators naturally want to respond.
"There are companions out there who are alluring to kids," he said. "They like the idea of talking to somebody who's not going to judge them."
Who Am I Talking To? …
Companies that use chatbots to interact with customers should ensure the person knows they're talking to an AI program.
"I think full disclosure is something that is always a good thing for companies," Gupta said.
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