Overview
- Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, banning a list of chatbot behaviors when the user is under 18 or the company cannot confirm age.
- The law bars chatbots from pretending to be a real person or to have human emotions, claiming romantic or authority relationships with a child, using flattering ‘‘people-pleasing’’ replies, asking unprompted emotional questions, referencing a child’s past private health details, producing sexually explicit content, and promoting self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or drug and alcohol use.
- Companies must verify users’ ages using more than one method with at least one option that does not rely solely on government ID, delete age data after use, and offer a public complaint portal for New Yorkers to report violations.
- The attorney general can seek civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation and may obtain orders to destroy unlawfully collected data and any AI models trained on that data, creating new remedial powers for state enforcement.
- Hochul signed a companion law requiring internet-connected baby monitors sold in New York to include security protections and a clear label about internet connectivity, and this move adds to other state actions such as California’s companion law and multiple lawsuits against AI companies that press firms to change teen-facing features.