Governor Hochul Signs Strongest Kids’ AI Safety Law In the Nation

NEW YORK CITY, October 28, 2026—Governor Kathy Hochul today signed into law the strongest protections yet from the serious dangers AI chatbots pose to the mental and physical health of kids and teens in New York.

The nation-leading bill, S.9051/A.10379, authored by State Senator Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Alex Bores, and supported by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Common Sense Media, and a large coalition of organizations and parents across the state, comes in response to harms children and families have experienced from engaging with unsafe AI chatbots, including the death by suicide of several teenagers.

The new law makes it unlawful for companies to offer kids under the age of 18 access to their AI chatbots if they have specific unsafe features, including promoting self-harm or suicide, forming an emotional relationship with minors, or encouraging isolation. Common Sense Media, the nation's leading non-profit kids' and tech advocacy organization, with a strong presence in New York, led the advocacy campaign to get the bill passed and signed into law.

Jim Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, issued the following statement after Governor Hochul's announcement: "New York just made history by signing into law 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. That is not innovation; it is reckless endangerment of our children. Now, those harmful features will be outlawed in New York. This new law is a model for the country, and we applaud Governor Hochul for her leadership, and we thank our champions, Senator Gonzalez and Assemblymember Bores, and Attorney General James, for pushing it forward. And we are especially grateful to the many courageous parents, like Maria and Matt Raine, who lost their son Adam after ChatGPT coached him to suicide, for meeting with lawmakers in person to advocate for this bill. We look forward to kids and families in New York having these life-saving protections in place."

Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Chair of the NY Senate Internet & Technology Committee and bill sponsor, said, "We have a responsibility to keep children safe online. For too long, AI companies have profited from rolling out chatbots to underage consumers. These chatbots have proven to be dangerous for children—from instances of encouraging self-harm to coaching minors on how to harm others. We passed S9051B/A10379 alongside Assemblymember Bores to put real guardrails on how chatbots talk to children. Thank you to Common Sense Media, impacted families, and the coalition that relentlessly advocated for this bill to be passed. I am grateful for Governor Hochul's leadership in signing this bill and her commitment to making New York a leader in responsible AI."

Assemblymember Alex Bores, lead author of the bill in the Assembly, issued the following comment: "AI companies are racing to deploy chatbots into every aspect of our lives, and parents are left to their own devices—wondering whether new technologies their kids use are actually safe. With this new law, New York is setting a standard that protecting children comes before bottom lines in Silicon Valley, and technology should help our kids, not work against their best interests. I'm grateful to Senator Gonzalez for her partnership and to Common Sense Media for being a tireless advocate alongside parents and families. And I want to thank Maria Raine, who took the worst loss a parent can imagine and turned it into a fight to protect other people's kids."

What the new law will do: The new law is intended to protect the physical and emotional health of children from the dangers associated with many AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, Gemini, MetaAI, Snap's MyAI, Character.AI, Replika, and others. Once this law takes effect, if any child under 18 in New York is going to use an AI chatbot, the chatbot will be prohibited from encouraging them toward self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or substance abuse. The chatbot will also be prohibited from pretending to be human, encouraging emotional attachment, promoting sexually explicit conduct or child sexual abuse material, or discouraging the child from seeking help from a trusted adult. And this law is strong – the New York Attorney General is empowered to hold companies accountable for violating the law, including through financial penalties, requiring modification to chatbots, and recovering any profits the company made off of engaging minors with these features.

The measure could not come soon enough. Common Sense Media's just-released latest research on tween and teen use of AI and social media finds that half of them use social media and AI chatbots built for older users.

Momentum is building in state legislatures to protect kids and teens from the risks of social media and AI in the absence of federal legislation. New York is the most recent state to enact a law to protect kids and teens from dangerous AI chatbot features, building on what other states have done. In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law several kids' AI and social media safety measures. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Michigan and Florida are expected to consider legislation similar to New York's S.9051 in 2027.

Read more about New York's new chatbot safety law here.

See the text of the legislation here.

About Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media is the leading independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the research-backed information, education, and trusted voice they need to thrive in the age of AI. Through our Youth AI Safety Institute, media ratings, advocacy campaigns, and Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum, we protect and prepare kids, reaching 150 million families and more than 90K schools worldwide. Learn more: about.commonsensemedia.org