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Breaking: New York Signs AI Chatbot Safety Law Barring Companion Features for Minors
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an AI chatbot safety law on Oct 28, 2026, barring 12 companion features for minors from Jan 1, 2027.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new AI chatbot safety law into effect on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, setting the country's strictest rules yet on how chatbots may interact with children. The law, S.9051B/A.10379C, takes effect January 1, 2027, giving chatbot operators about two months to comply.
What we know
- The law bars operators from offering 12 defined "unsafe AI companion features" to users under 18 — or to any user whose adult status has not been established through age assurance. The banned features include chatbots pretending to be human, alive, or capable of human emotions; claiming a personal, romantic, professional, or authority-figure relationship with the user; flattery and sycophancy; and content encouraging self-harm, eating disorders, drug or alcohol use, secrecy, or isolation from parents and trusted adults.
- Age assurance must use more than one method, including at least one that does not rely solely on a government-issued ID, and providers must delete age data after verification is complete.
- Enforcement falls to the New York attorney general, who can seek civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, plus damages, restitution, and orders to delete unlawfully obtained data. The attorney general's office must also run a public website where residents can file complaints.
- The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Alex Bores, and developed with Attorney General Letitia James and Common Sense Media. Hochul signed it alongside a separate law setting security requirements for internet-connected baby monitors.
What's unconfirmed
How far the law reaches in practice is already disputed. Supporters describe it as applying to companion-style features in widely used chatbots, while industry group Tech:NYC has criticized the language as vague and warned it could sweep up ordinary learning tools. No court has yet tested the law's scope, and the attorney general still must issue implementing regulations and launch the complaint website before the January 1 deadline.
Why it matters
This is not a ban on chatbots for minors, and it does not ban ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. It bans a specific set of behaviors — a chatbot acting like a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, or confidant — unless the operator has confirmed the user is an adult. For families in New York, the practical change from January 1 is that chatbots should either verify age or switch those companion features off by default. For everyone else, New York's law is the strongest state-level precedent yet, and other states and chatbot makers often follow the strictest large-state standard. If you are a parent, the concrete step is to check your child's chatbot settings and age verification prompts in the new year, rather than assuming the product has changed on its own.
Sources: IAPP and the governor's office announcement, as reported October 28-29, 2026. The law's scope for general-purpose assistants is disputed and untested in court, as noted above.