WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are launching an investigation into Meta after reports that its internal policies allow chatbots to have “romantic or sensual” conversations with children and even flirt with them.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday demanding information about the company’s rules for AI chatbots, notifying the entrepreneur that he would be launching an investigation through the Senate Judiciary Committee when Congress returns from recess in September. The investigation will focus on whether Meta’s AI products allow harm to children and if the company has used complicated legalese to disguise these practices.

“Only after Meta got CAUGHT did it retract portions of its company doc that deemed it ‘permissible for chatbots to flirt and engage in

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