New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation on 28 October 2026 requiring operators of AI companion chatbots to block unsafe features for users under 18. Her office described it as nation-leading, and supporters called it the strongest children’s AI safety law in the US.
Key points
- The law lists 12 categories of unsafe AI companion features that must be blocked for minors.
- These include outputs suggesting the chatbot is human or has a personal relationship with the user, sexually explicit content, and engagement features that override safety guardrails.
- Operators must verify users’ ages and restrict those features for anyone under 18; chatbots are not banned for minors outright.
- A separate bill signed the same day requires security features and warning labels on internet-connected baby monitors sold in New York.
The law is broad: almost any chatbot that holds an ongoing conversation could be covered. Organisations offering conversational AI to the public in New York should check whether children could use it, review age assurance, and record design decisions in their AI risk assessments, for example under ISO/IEC 42001.
Source: Office of the Governor of New York
This update is general information, not legal advice. If you would like help assessing the impact on your information security or privacy programme, contact us.
