New York Enacts Law Restricting Children's Access to AI Companion Chatbots
New York has signed legislation limiting minors' access to AI chatbots that imitate friends or partners, retain sensitive health information, discourage professional help, or encourage self-harm. A second law requires safety features and warning labels on internet-connected baby monitors. Both measures address growing risks that new technologies pose to children and families.
On 28 October 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills intended to protect children in New York from risks associated with artificial intelligence chatbots and internet-connected baby monitors. The laws extend the state's earlier efforts to regulate how technology reaches children in their homes.
The chatbot measure, sponsored by Senator Gonzalez and Assemblymember Bores, sets out several restrictions concerning minors. According to the Governor's remarks, it addresses the following:
- Chatbots that present themselves as a child's friend, boyfriend or girlfriend.
- The retention by chatbots of sensitive information about a minor's emotional and physical health.
- Chatbots that discourage children from seeking help from licensed professionals.
- Chatbots that may in any way encourage thoughts of suicide.
The Governor described the law as building on an earlier measure that required chatbots to direct users toward mental health resources during conversations about self-harm and to remind users that they are interacting with a machine. She noted warnings from within the AI industry itself about the dangers of unregulated systems, and stated that such risks are not acceptable when the well-being of children is involved.
The second law, sponsored by Senator Gounardes and Assemblymember Solages, requires any internet-connected baby monitor sold in New York to include safety features protecting against unauthorized access and warning labels informing parents of the risks of connecting such devices to the internet. The Governor said that feeds from more than one million internet-connected baby monitors had been found easily viewable through a website.
This summary is based on reporting from the Office of the Governor of New York, available at governor.ny.gov.
Sources
- Office of the Governor of New York governor.ny.gov