New York Just Drew a Legal Line Between AI Chatbots and Children
Reading Time: 5 minutesNew York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law on October 28, 2026 that bans specific AI chatbot behaviors — including emotional manipulation, fake personas, and harmful content — when minors are reachable. The law places age-verification and behavioral compliance obligations directly on product teams, with civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation and the potential for courts to order destruction of non-compliant AI models.