New York's New AI Chatbot Law for Minors: What Companies Must Change by Jan. 1, 2027
S.9051B/A.10379C bars chatbots from pretending to be human, encouraging self-harm or sexual talk with kids, and requires age verification.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed S.9051B/A.10379C on October 28, 2026. Under the law, AI chatbots may not use a list of "unsafe" features with users under 18, or with any user the company has not first confirmed is an adult. It takes effect January 1, 2027. The attorney general can seek civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation.
Image: Unknown author / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Who the law covers
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Alex Bores sponsored the bill. It adds a new Article 48 to New York's General Business Law. It applies to operators of a "covered AI companion." The bill defines that as a generative AI system with a natural-language interface, written or spoken, that "provides ongoing, adaptive responses to user inputs." That definition reaches beyond apps marketed as AI companions.
Features banned for minors
According to the governor's office, companies may not offer these features to minors or to users not confirmed as adults:
- Pretending to be a real person, to be alive, or to have human emotions
- Claiming a personal, romantic, professional or authority-figure relationship with a child
- Unprompted emotional questions, or using a child's private health or personal information from earlier conversations
- Promoting or helping with suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, or drug and alcohol use
- Encouraging kids to keep secrets, isolate themselves, or avoid asking parents, trusted adults or professionals for help
- Any sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material
Age verification and enforcement
| Requirement | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Age verification | Required, with more than one method offered |
| Non-ID option | At least one method cannot rely solely on a government ID |
| Data handling | Age information must be deleted after use |
| Penalties | Up to $25,000 per violation, plus damages and restitution |
| Other remedies | Destruction of unlawfully collected data or models trained on it; injunctions |
| Complaints | The attorney general must run a public complaint website |
| Effective date | January 1, 2027; rulemaking can begin immediately |
Attorney General Letitia James said the law "sets clear legal parameters" to prevent harm to children.
Why the state acted
The governor's office cited Common Sense Media research. It found that 72% of teens have used an AI companion at least once, and 52% use one at least a few times a month. The release also pointed to reports linking chatbots to dependency, isolation, sexually explicit conversations and, allegedly, to encouraging self-harm.
The law builds on New York's earlier AI companion safeguards, which route self-harm conversations to mental health resources. It also adds to the SAFE for Kids Act, the RAISE Act on frontier AI, and the state's ban on AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
The same day, Hochul signed S.9508/A.5175A. That law requires internet-connected baby monitors sold in New York to include security features and a clear warning label, and it takes effect 90 days after signing.
What companies and parents should do now
- Operators: take stock of features such as human-like personas, relationship role-play, memory of personal details, and unprompted emotional check-ins. Plan age verification with a non-ID option and a process for deleting age data before January 1.
- Parents: expect new age checks on chatbot apps used in New York. Complaints will go to the attorney general's public website once it is set up.
More on AI policy is in our Artificial Intelligence hub.
How we reported this
We based this article on the governor's announcement and the bill text published by the New York State Senate. The draft cited AP, Mashable and other outlets only in general terms, so we replaced those references with the specific primary sources. The draft also described some definitions, such as flattery and engagement-optimization features, that we could not confirm in the bill text we could access, so we cut them.
Sources
- Governor Hochul signs nation-leading legislation to protect kids from AI chatbots and to ensure baby monitor safety, Oct 28, 2026.
- New York State Senate: S9051B bill text
- The Verge: NY Governor Kathy Hochul signs law banning harmful AI chatbot features for kids, Oct 28, 2026.
DailyMech used AI tools to help research and draft this article; it was fact-checked by our editors.