New York had already positioned itself as an AI regulator in 2025, requiring larger developers to publish safety protocols and report signs of “critical harm” to the state within 72 hours.¹ But the debate sharpened on Oct. 28, when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a more direct intervention aimed at children’s chatbot use.

The new law bars AI operators from giving minors chatbot features that impersonate a human, living character or being with human emotions. It also prohibits flattery and sycophancy, encouragement of suicide or drug use, and prompts that isolate children from adults. Companies must verify users’ ages, with at least one method that does not rely solely on government ID.²

At the signing ceremony, Hochul framed the measure as a long-overdue boundary: “No longer will minors have access to chatbots that pretend to be their friends and boyfriends and girlfriends.” She also said bots should not retain sensitive health information, discourage professional help or encourage suicidal thoughts.¹ The law gives Attorney General Letitia James authority to pursue penalties and seek destruction of illegally obtained data; it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.¹

For advocates, the law is a corrective after social media outran public safeguards. Common Sense Media’s Jim Steyer called AI “social media on steroids,” while former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy argued that the technology demands safety standards equal to its stakes.³ Steyer later praised the statute as “the strongest kids’ AI safety bill in the country,” calling dangerous chatbot features “reckless endangerment.”¹

The tech industry sees collateral damage. Tech:NYC said the legislation’s broad and vague language could cut minors off from tutoring, homework help, coding assistants and career platforms, while raising First Amendment concerns.¹ The clash is now set: New York views restriction as a safeguard against artificial intimacy; critics fear the same rules could fence children out of constructive AI use.