The Milwaukee County executive announced an 11-point plan Oct. 13. It would limit AI chatbot apps for children under 13 and bar features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay on minors’ accounts. It also calls for increased penalties for distributing AI-generated sexual images of children and would let families sue AI platforms over content that harms children, including material promoting suicide or eating disorders.

Other proposals would penalize technology companies that profit from scams or fraudulent ads and expand funding for adult protective services and centers that assist fraud victims. The changes would require action by the state Legislature.

Crowley said he would not wait for federal lawmakers to take up further AI regulations. He cited concerns shared by parents, including strangers contacting children, fake images being circulated at school and scammers targeting older relatives.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, Crowley’s opponent in the governor’s race, has also called for what he described as “commonsense guardrails” to protect children and older adults. Tiffany supports holding companies accountable for platforms that enable sexually explicit images or inappropriate chatbot conversations with minors. He has also backed age-verification requirements for apps, stronger parental-consent protections and more parental control over children’s online activity.

Tiffany said he wants to prevent personal information from reaching foreign adversaries, including China. The candidates’ discussion of AI since the August primary has largely focused on proposed data centers, rather than regulation of the technology itself.

The debate comes as federal action on AI safeguards remains limited. President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act in May 2025, making it a crime to publish real or AI-generated intimate images online and requiring platforms to remove them after notification. Tiffany and Wisconsin’s congressional delegation voted for the law. Other federal proposals, including requirements for AI companies to report safety incidents and label AI-generated content, have not advanced.

Crowley’s proposals follow state efforts to address online harms. Gov. Tony Evers signed bipartisan legislation that classified sextortion as a crime and expanded recourse for victims and their families. In August, Attorney General Josh Kaul said Wisconsin could receive up to $313 million through a settlement involving Meta and 47 states over allegations that addictive platform features threatened teens’ mental health.

The governor’s contest between Crowley and Tiffany is expected to be competitive, according to polling from Marquette University Law School. Any AI regulations Crowley is proposing would depend on winning legislative support as well as the election.