NY governor signs major chatbot safety bill into law

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law on Wednesday that bars AI chatbots from offering a range of features to users under 18, including pretending to be human, giving flattering "people-pleasing" responses, and discussing self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, drug or alcohol use, sexually explicit content, or child sexual abuse material. Companies covered by the law must verify user age and offer more than one verification method, including one that does not rely solely on government identification, and violations carry a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per instance. Hochul said "No company should be peddling chatbots to kids encouraging self-harm or pretending to be their friend or more," as the absence of federal AI regulation pushes states to act, with California's Adam's Law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September, requiring annual child safety risk assessments and independent audits for companion chatbot developers.

NY governor signs major chatbot safety bill into law Rebecca Ruiz https://mashable.com/author/rebecca-ruiz Read Full Bio https://mashable.com/author/rebecca-ruiz New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Wednesday a major safety bill that effectively prohibits artificial intelligence https://mashable.com/category/artificial-intelligence chatbots from offering a range of standard features to users under the age of 18. Among the blocked behaviors are pretending to be a real person or feel human emotions; offering "people-pleasing" or flattering responses; and asking unprompted emotional questions or referring to a child's private health information from earlier conversations. The law also addresses features that are particularly dangerous for young users. You May Also Like Once the bill goes into effect, minors will not be able to converse with chatbots that promote or give advice related to drug or alcohol use, eating disorders, self-harm, or suicide. Chatbots will also be banned from encouraging kids to keep secrets, as well as discussing sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material with minors. "No company should be peddling chatbots to kids encouraging self-harm or pretending to be their friend or more," Hochul said in a press release. Companies subject to the law must verify user age and offer more than one method of doing so, including verification that doesn't solely require government identification. Terms of Use https://www.ziffdavis.com/terms-of-use and Privacy Policy https://www.ziffdavis.com/ztg-privacy-policy . Among the leading chatbot providers, only Anthropic prohibits minors from creating an account. Google and OpenAI, which operate Gemini and ChatGPT, respectively, both allow children ages 13 and older to use their chatbots. Kids under 13 can even access Gemini apps https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16109150?hl=en . OpenAI also offers ChatGPT for Teens https://mashable.com/tech/chatgpt-for-teens-what-to-know , which independent researchers recently said should be turned off https://mashable.com/tech/chatgpt-for-teens-not-safe-for-teens until certain safety concerns are resolved. Violations of the law could result in a civil penalty up to $25,000 for each instance. The bill also establishes a public website where New Yorkers can file complaints against chatbot companies for potential violations. Hochul has supported several bills related to digital and AI safety, including legislation on AI transparency https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/ai-safety-governor-hochul-announces-next-steps-regulate-major-ai-developers-and-protect-new and AI companions https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-legislation-expanding-historic-empire-ai-consortium-and-establishing , as well as a law that restricts addictive social media features https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-and-governor-hochul-release-final-safe-kids-act-rules . The absence of federal AI regulations https://mashable.com/tech/ai-safety-anthropic-openai-google has prompted policymakers across the country to develop their own laws. In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law designed to enforce stronger safety requirements for AI companies. The legislation was named for Adam Raine https://mashable.com/article/chat-gpt-teen-wrongful-death-testimony , a young teen who died by suicide after consulting with ChatGPT. Raine's parents filed the first wrongful death lawsuit https://mashable.com/article/teens-family-files-first-wrongful-death-suit-against-openai-chatgpt against an AI company for alleged harmful chatbot behavior. Adam's Law requires developers of companion chatbots to conduct and publish annual child safety risk assessments and to submit their products to independent audits. Developers must create crisis response processes for chatbots, as well. Many companies already have safety measures in place, but guardrails have consistently failed to fully prevent chatbot behavior harmful to teens https://mashable.com/article/chatgpt-claude-meta-ai-gemini-unsafe-for-teen-mental-health . Additional reporting by Chase DiBenedetto. Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.