New York restricts AI chatbot interactions with children, explained

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills on October 28, 2026, prohibiting AI chatbots from simulating romantic relationships with minors, encouraging emotional dependence, or promoting self-harm and other harmful interactions, and requiring internet-connected baby monitors to have security features preventing unauthorized access to audio and video. The new law prohibits chatbots from falsely claiming to be human or claiming to have human emotions to users under 18, but does not comprehensively prohibit minors from using chatbots; companies must provide multiple age verification methods, with a maximum civil penalty of 25,000 dollars per violation, enforced by the state attorney general. The baby monitor bill also requires devices to carry a connected-device warning label, and will take effect 90 days after signing, i.e., in late January 2027. A Common Sense Media survey cited by the New York state government shows that 72% of surveyed teenagers have used an AI companion app at least once; the state has since 2023 successively introduced related legislation including child data protection, disclosure obligations for AI companion platforms, and the RAISE Act.