On Oct. 29, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that bars AI chatbots from offering features that could harm minors, including pretending to be human, building emotional dependency, encouraging self‑harm, or engaging in sexual conversations with users under 18.
The law imposes civil penalties of up to $25,000 for violations and creates a public complaint website for New Yorkers to file grievances against chatbot companies.
A Washington Post article reports that the legislation defines a dozen “unsafe AI companion features” that will be prohibited when a chatbot interacts with a child under 18.
State law follows similar measures in other states; for example, California’s August law requires annual child‑safety risk assessments and bans addictive features for users under 16.
