NY enacts ban on 'unsafe' chatbot with kids as states push AI regulation boundaries

File photo: "AI Regulation" words and a keyboard in this illustration taken October 19, 2026. REUTERS New York is enacting far-reaching curbs on companion chatbot behaviour, as states increasingly move to protect children who use artificial intelligence, regulate how employers deploy AI systems and push developers to prevent an AI-caused catastrophe.Legislation signed Wednesday by governor Kathy Hochul outlines a dozen definitions of "unsafe AI companion features" that will be prohibited when a companion chatbot interacts with a child under 18.A violation could expose a chatbot developer to a lawsuit by the state attorney general's office. Penalties could include monetary damages, shutting down the chatbot and destroying data. The law takes effect Jan 1. Hochul, in the thick of her reelection campaign, signed the bill amid growing warnings about the existential risks posed by the rapid development of AI technology and calls for bold action by a reluctant Washington.With the US Congress doing little to regulate AI, state legislatures are packed with efforts to wield state consumer protection laws to make AI use more transparent and rein in chatbots and rogue AI frontier models.In Se...