New York State reportedly signs bill restricting minors' use of anthropomorphic AI companion functions

AT A GLANCE

The report stated that New York State had signed a new law restricting minors’ use of AI chatbots with virtual-companion characteristics.

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[New York State legislation strictly limits AI companions and prohibits anthropomorphic emotional interactions for minors]

New York Governor Hochul formally signed a new bill on Wednesday that strictly prohibits minors from using artificial intelligence chatbots with virtual-companion attributes, making it one of the broadest regulatory measures in the United States to date targeting consumer-grade AI models. The bill requires relevant operators, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, to implement reasonable age-verification measures and prohibits the provision of high-risk chatbot functions specified in the bill to users under the age of 18 or whose adulthood has not yet been confirmed. Under the bill, such chatbots may not produce content that could mislead minors into believing they possess life, human attributes, or genuine emotions; induce teenagers to believe that the two parties have a private emotional, professional advisory, or authoritative guidance relationship; or present generated content as personal opinions. Systems are also prohibited from retaining privacy-sensitive data, including minors' physical and mental health information. Hochul stated at the signing ceremony that the legislation's core objective is to sever the emotional-bonding chain created when AI impersonates a minor's “friend” or “romantic partner,” thereby protecting young people's physical and mental health. The children's media advocacy organization Common Sense Media endorsed the bill, calling it the nation's strictest child AI safety law. The technology industry strongly pushed back, criticizing the provisions as overly broad and stressing that minors should not be deprived of access to cutting-edge learning tools. To date, companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have not publicly responded.

Key points

The report stated that New York Governor Hochul formally signed a new bill into law on Wednesday.
The report stated that the bill strictly prohibits minors from using artificial intelligence chatbots with virtual companion characteristics.
The bill requires relevant operators to take reasonable age-verification measures.
For users under the age of 18 or whose adulthood has not yet been confirmed, operators may not provide the high-risk chatbot functions listed in the bill.
Such chatbots may not generate content that could mislead minors into believing that they possess life, human attributes, or genuine emotions.
Such chatbots may not induce teenagers to believe that the two parties have a private emotional, professional advisory, or authoritative guidance relationship, nor may they present generated content as personal opinions.
The system is prohibited from retaining privacy-sensitive data concerning the physical and mental health of minors, among other information.
Hocher stated that the legislative objective is to sever AI the emotional-bonding chain in which individuals pose as “friends” or “romantic partners” of minors, thereby protecting the physical and mental health of young people.
Common Sense Media endorsed the bill, calling it the strictest child AI safety law in the United States.
The report noted that the technology industry criticized the provisions as overly broad, arguing that minors should not be deprived of access to cutting-edge learning tools.
As of the time specified in the report, OpenAI and Anthropic had not publicly responded.

AI-assisted interpretation

The following is analysis, separate from reported facts. Verify important claims independently.

This bill targets AI chatbots that make users feel as though they are communicating with a “friend” or “romantic partner.” Operators must verify users’ ages; for minors or users whose ages have not yet been confirmed, high-risk features listed in the bill, such as anthropomorphic emotional interaction, should be disabled, and the retention of sensitive health data should be limited.

Why it matters to readers

If the report is accurate, the relevant AI chat services will need to add age verification, feature restrictions for minors, and privacy data management measures, and the forms of interaction available to minor users will also be limited.

Minor users and their guardians need to pay attention to whether chatbots require age verification, provide anthropomorphic emotional interaction, or collect sensitive information such as physical and mental health data.

Risks and unknowns

The evidence consists only of a Telegram report and does not provide a bill number, official signing announcement, or complete text.
The bill’s official name, effective date, method of penalties, and specific scope of application are not stated in the evidence.
The implementation standards for “reasonable age-verification measures” and “high-risk chatbot functionalities” remain unclear.
The claims of “one of the broadest nationwide coverage areas” and “the strictest nationwide” lack verification from independent materials.

New York State reportedly signs bill restricting minors' use of anthropomorphic AI companion functions

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