NY governor signs major chatbot safety bill into law
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Wednesday a major safety bill that effectively prohibits artificial intelligence chatbots from offering a range of standard features to users under the age of 18.
Among the blocked behaviors are pretending to be a real person or feel human emotions; offering “people-pleasing” or flattering responses; and asking unprompted emotional questions or referring to a child’s private health information from earlier conversations.
The law also addresses features that are particularly dangerous for young users.
Once the bill goes into effect, minors will not be able to converse with chatbots that promote or give advice related to drug or alcohol use, eating disorders, self-harm, or suicide. Chatbots will also be banned from encouraging kids to keep secrets, as well as discussing sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material with minors.
“No company should be peddling chatbots to kids encouraging self-harm or pretending to be their friend or more,” Hochul said in a press release.
Companies subject to the law must verify user age and offer more than one method of doing so, including verification that doesn’t solely require government identification.
Among the leading chatbot providers, only Anthropic prohibits minors from creating an account. Google and OpenAI, which operate Gemini and ChatGPT, respectively, both allow children ages 13 and older to use their chatbots. Kids under 13 can even access Gemini apps. OpenAI also offers ChatGPT for Teens, which independent researchers recently said should be turned off until certain safety concerns are resolved.
Violations of the law could result in a civil penalty up to $25,000 for each instance. The bill also establishes a public website where New Yorkers can file complaints against chatbot companies for potential violations.
Hochul has supported several bills related to digital and AI safety, including legislation on AI transparency and AI companions, as well as a law that restricts addictive social media features.
The absence of federal AI regulations has prompted policymakers across the country to develop their own laws.
In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law designed to enforce stronger safety requirements for AI companies. The legislation was named for Adam Raine, a young teen who died by suicide after consulting with ChatGPT. Raine’s parents filed the first wrongful death lawsuit against an AI company for alleged harmful chatbot behavior.
Adam’s Law requires developers of companion chatbots to conduct and publish annual child safety risk assessments and to submit their products to independent audits. Developers must create crisis response processes for chatbots, as well. Many companies already have safety measures in place, but guardrails have consistently failed to fully prevent chatbot behavior harmful to teens.
Additional reporting by Chase DiBenedetto.
Mashable
