On Wednesday, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law aimed at protecting minors from the growing risks of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
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“As a mother and grandmother, I believe kids deserve to be kids, without dangerous AI chatbots putting their safety and mental health at risk. Today, I signed new laws to protect them. Big Tech, you’re on notice: New York will not let you profit at the expense of our children,” she said.
The new legislation prohibits companies from offering a range of chatbot features to users under the age of 18, which include pretending to be human, building emotional dependency, encouraging self-harm or engaging in sexually explicit conversations.
Under the new law, violations could result in a civil penalty of up to US$25,000 sought by the state’s attorney general. The bill also establishes a public website where New Yorkers could file complaints against chatbot companies for potential violations.
New York signs law barring minors from AI companion chatbots
— WW3 SOON (@Web3__Youth) October 30, 2026
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the measure Wednesday.
Tech industry group Tech:NYC criticized the law's vague language. pic.twitter.com/a69TdVSdWC
“The law is not limited to products marketed as AI companions. Its definition can reach other conversational generative AI products, including AI characters, creator replicas, roleplay tools, and general-purpose chatbots. Businesses offering these features to users in New York should review their products, age-assurance systems, and data practices before the effective date,” outlet My Adult Attorney pointed out.
“A ‘covered AI companion’ is a generative AI system with a natural-language interface, including text or voice, that provides ongoing, adaptive responses to user inputs. A business does not avoid the law simply by calling its chatbot an assistant rather than a companion.”
“The restrictions concern users physically located in New York. An operator need not be located in New York to face enforcement. Conversely, the statute treats access by a user physically outside New York as conduct wholly outside the state. The focus is the user’s location, not merely residence,” My Adult Attorney added.
Previously, several U.S. states have passed laws to restrict use of chatbots for children and enforce stronger safety requirements for AI companies.
In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation requiring chatbot developers to conduct and publish annual child safety risk assessments and submit their products to independent audits. Newsom also signed a law to ban social media platforms from deploying addictive features for users under the age of 16.
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Source: Xinhua
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