S.9508/A.5175A Requires Internet-Connected Baby Monitors to Include Safety Features and Clear Warning Labels
S.9051B/A.10379C Bans Unsafe AI Chatbot Features for Minors, Including Bots that Pretend to Be Human, Encourage Self Harm or Engage in Inappropriate Conversations with Kids
Builds on Governor Hochul’s Nation-Leading Record on Putting Guardrails on AI, Including First in the Nation AI Companion Safeguards, the RAISE Act, the Ban on AI-Generated Sexual Abuse Material, Safe by Design and Safe for Kids Acts
Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills to protect New York’s kids from the growing risks of artificial intelligence chatbots and internet-connected baby monitors in their homes, nurseries and playrooms. Together these laws build on the Governor’s efforts to make New York a national leader in keeping kids safe online and protecting New Yorkers from the threats of new technology and artificial intelligence.
“As artificial intelligence advances at a rapid pace, there have been too many tragic incidents that should have been prevented, and as New York’s mom Governor, I’m taking action,” Governor Hochul said. “No company should be peddling chatbots to kids encouraging self-harm or pretending to be their friend or more. And no new parent should have to worry that predatory hackers are spying on their new family through their baby monitors. New York is sending a clear message: if you want to do business in our state, you need to put the safety of our kids first.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James said,“I was proud to work with Governor Hochul, Senator Gonzalez, Assemblymember Bores, and Common Sense Media to protect our children from the potential harms of AI chatbots. We have seen too many horror stories of chatbots hurting the health of our children, and this new law sets clear legal parameters to prevent that harm and keep kids safe. My office will continue working with partners at all levels of government to address the threats posed by this technology, while also clearing the way for safe, responsible innovation. New York’s eye is on the ball—and we will not hesitate to defend New Yorkers with the full force of the law.”
S.9508/A.5175A requires internet-connected baby monitors sold in New York to include security features that block strangers from watching or listening in, along with a clear warning label.
State Senator Andrew Gounardes said, “Baby monitors are meant to help parents keep an eye on their newborn, not to let prying eyes into our homes. These new technologies can be helpful, but they pose real cybersecurity risks. My bill mandates privacy features that prevent strangers from seeing or hearing what’s happening in a child’s room, and ensures devices have clear warning labels so families know how those features work. That way, parents can sleep soundly knowing they and their kids are safe. Thanks to Governor Hochul for her partnership on this effort.”
Assemblymember Michaelle C. Solages said, “A baby monitor should keep watch for parents, not open the door for hackers and strangers. Now, every internet connected baby monitor sold in New York must be built to keep intruders out and clearly labeled so families know how to stay safe. I thank Governor Hochul for signing this legislation into law and Senator Gounardes, my Senate sponsor, for his partnership in protecting New York families.”
Baby monitors can be an open door into the home. When security researchers at Rapid7 tested nine internet-connected baby monitors from eight companies, eight monitors received an “F” for security and one received a “D”. This new law prohibits the sale of new baby monitors that broadcast audio or video over the internet unless they include security features that prevent strangers from seeing or hearing what is happening in the child’s room. Monitors must also carry a clear, easy-to-read warning label explaining that the device connects to the internet and that families should use its security features. The law will take effect 90 days after signing.
S.9051B/A.10379C prohibits companies that utilize AI chatbot features from offering unsafe features to minors, including chatbots that pretend to be human, build emotional dependency, encourage self-harm or engage in sexually explicit conversations.
State Senator Kristen Gonzalez 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/A10379C 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 said, “For everyone wondering whether the public can have any say in determining how AI impacts us, New York again has an answer: Absolutely. New York now has the strongest law in the country protecting children from predatory AI algorithms, raising the floor yet again when it comes to common sense regulation — and doing so despite aggressive industry opposition. Our state’s leadership is a reminder to the rest of the country that AI happening to us — not for us — is not an inevitability. It’s a choice.”
AI Chatbots and connected devices have taken a significant role in our homes and lives faster than safety protections can keep up. According to Common Sense Media, most teens are already using AI companions. Seventy-two percent of teens have used an AI companion once, and 52% are regular users who interact with them at least a few times a month. AI chatbots have been linked to dependency, isolation, and in some cases, engaged in sexually explicit conversations and even have allegedly encouraged teens to take their own lives.
Building on the Governor’s first in the nation AI Companion safeguards, this legislation requires AI chatbots block harmful features if offered to kids. In the coming months, companies may not offer the following features to users that are under 18, or to any user unless the company has first confirmed the user is not a minor:
- Pretending to be a real person, to be alive or to have human emotions
- Claiming a personal, romantic, professional or authority-figure relationship with a child
- Unprompted emotional questions, and using a child’s private health or personal information from earlier conversations
- Promoting or helping with suicide, self harm, eating disorders or drug and alcohol use
- Encouraging kids to keep secrets, isolate themselves or avoid asking parents, trusted adults or professionals for help
- Any sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material
The law also requires companies to conduct age verification and offer more than one way to verify age, including at least one option that does not depend solely on a government ID. It also requires that age information be deleted after it is used. Violations would allow the attorney general to seek civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation along with damages, restitution, the destruction of unlawfully collected data or any AI models trained on it, and any other appropriate injunctive relief. Additionally the law requires the attorney general to maintain a public website where New Yorkers can file complaints.
Common Sense Media Founder and CEO James P. Steyer said,“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 Senator Gonzalez, Assemblymember Bores and Attorney General James, for pushing this measure forward. And we are especially grateful to the many parents, like Maria and Matt Raine and others, for joining us to meet with lawmakers to advocate for this critical bill.”
New York State United Teachers Teachers President Melinda Person said, “Governor Hochul continues to lead the way in protecting our kids from harmful technology. From creating distraction-free schools to taking on addictive social media algorithms, she has listened to parents and educators and taken bold action to put kids first. Now, she’s confronting the risks posed by AI chatbots. Our kids deserve the chance to learn, grow and build real human connections without technology getting in the way. I applaud Governor Hochul for continuing to stand up to Big Tech and put the well-being of our children first.”
Governor Hochul’s Record on Responsible AI
This announcement builds on Governor Hochul’s ongoing efforts to address the youth mental health crisis statewide and help keep kids safe online. This work has established New York as a global leader in securing a safer online world for children, and as of this year New York is ranked number one in the U.S. for laws that keep kids safe online. Initiatives include:
- The SAFE for Kids Act, which restricts addictive features of social media for kids, and established an important national precedent about age verification.
- The Child Data Protection Act that prevents online operators from collecting and monetizing children’s data without informed consent.
- The RAISE Act, a nation-leading standard for AI transparency and safety for powerful frontier AI models.
- AI Companion legislation which set first-in-the-nation safeguards, diverting user conversations about self-harm to mental health resources and interrupting unhealthy addictive behaviors.
- The Governor also outlawed AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
- The Unplug and Play Agenda which helps encourage healthy socialization and child development by funding social infrastructure, physical sites like playgrounds, community centers, and pools, and expanded youth programming.
- New York’s Distraction Free Learning Policy, requiring statewide, bell-to-bell restrictions on smartphones in K-12 schools, which is already resulting in greater academic achievement, improved student wellbeing, and safer school environments for students.
- The Social Media Warning Labels bill that will require social media companies to post warnings about the platform’s potential impact on mental health.
- The Safe by Design Act, which will protect kids from predatory behavior online and defaults them to the highest privacy settings.
- Teen Mental Health First Aid training that equips youth with skills to recognize common signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges and know how to ask for help.
- Youth Safe Spaces, where trusted community organizations provide supportive, non-judgmental environments where young people can access mental wellness resources, foster positive peer relationships, and engage in non-clinical activities.
- The Power Down, Speak Up public awareness campaign launched by the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) that helps to empower young people statewide to recognize and respond to online abuse while equipping parents, educators, and law enforcement with tools to help keep youth safe online.
- OPDV’s Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) Training, which has already trained more than 4,000 youth, parents, educators, and law enforcement professionals on preventing and responding to online abuse.
