New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law on Wednesday restricting minors’ use of AI chatbots that simulate personal relationships. The legislation introduces some of the broadest restrictions yet on consumer-facing artificial intelligence tools.
The law requires chatbot operators, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to verify users’ ages and limit certain AI behaviours when interacting with people under 18.
Under the legislation, chatbots used by minors cannot generate content that leads users to believe the AI is human, alive or capable of experiencing human emotions.
They are also prohibited from presenting themselves as having personal or professional relationships with users, assuming an authority figure role or framing their responses as personal opinions.
“No longer will minors have access to chatbots that pretend to be their friends, boyfriends and girlfriends,” Hochul said during the signing ceremony.
“No longer will chatbots be able to keep sensitive information about a minor’s emotional and physical health,” she added.
Tech Industry Raises Concerns
Several US states, including California, have introduced laws to regulate AI chatbots. However, the New York legislation uses particularly broad language, drawing criticism from parts of the technology industry.
Tech, an advocacy group representing the technology sector in New York, criticised what it described as the law’s vague language.
“Keeping kids safe online should not mean cutting them off from tools that help them learn and prepare for careers,” the group said in a statement.
The legislation has renewed debate over how governments should balance child safety with access to AI tools for education and other beneficial uses.
Child Safety Advocates Welcome the Law
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organisation that provides guidance to parents on children’s media use, welcomed the legislation.
The organisation described the measure as “the strongest kids’ AI safety bill in the country.”
“AI companies offer chatbots with features that are dangerous, and even deadly, for kids and teens… Now, those harmful features will be outlawed in New York,” the organisation’s chief executive, Jim Steyer, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to an AFP request for comment on the new law.
The legislation marks another step in the growing effort to regulate AI systems that simulate human relationships, particularly when minors use them for companionship or emotional support.
