New York enacts ban on 'unsafe' chatbot behavior with kids as states push AI regulation boundaries

Levy reports that New York enacted a law prohibiting companion chatbots from presenting themselves to minors as real people with emotions or relationships and from using sexual content, flattery, secrecy, or encouragement of harmful behavior. The attorney general can sue developers, seek damages, shut a chatbot down, and require data destruction.

The law moves beyond disclosure toward regulating the design of machine behavior. California uses a different model based on child-risk assessments and audits, giving states a live comparison while Congress remains largely inactive.