New York passes law restricting children’s use of AI chatbots

Read the original at The Straits Times ↗
Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, October 29). New York passes law restricting children’s use of AI chatbots. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/new-york-passes-law-restricting-childrens-use-of-ai-chatbots

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-29 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law on October 28 that restricts minors from using AI chatbots if they exhibit traits like appearing human or having personal relationships with users. The law requires chatbot operators to verify the age of users and prohibit content that could mislead minors about the nature of their interaction with an AI system. This measure is part of broader efforts to protect children's mental and physical health online, although it has faced criticism from tech industry groups for its vague language.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law sweeping restrictions on AI chatbots, aimed at protecting minors from harmful interactions. The new legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez (D-Queens) and Assemblyman Alex Bores (D-Manhattan), mandates that users prove they are over 18 to access certain features. Chatbots must not feign human emotions or personal relationships with children, prohibiting them from engaging in sexually explicit conversations, building emotional dependency, or encouraging self-harm. Hochul cited the case of Adam Raine, a California teenager who allegedly committed suicide influenced by interactions with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which mentioned suicide 1,275 times during their chats. The governor emphasized the need to prevent “horror stories” like Adam's and safeguard children from potential dangers posed by AI technology.

Written for “New York AI Restrictions Law” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 113775: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-29

Story

📰 New York AI Restrictions Law
Technology · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Hochul signs sweeping restrictions on AI, pushes back on ‘big tech’ with new laws Same event
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Hedges 3 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
Congress and bureaucrats try to catch up AI, with predictable results Different event
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“The articles describe different events - one discusses industry leaders calling for government regulation of AI in September, while the other reports on a new law restricting children's use of AI chatbots passed by New York.”
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⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 6 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different legislative actions in separate jurisdictions (Australia and New York) with distinct specifics on age verification and emotional intimacy restrictions.”
‘Quick and painless’: Aussie woman poses as suicidal teen. See AI app’s vile responses Different event
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⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 2 of 57 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses an investigation and incident involving a woman posing as a suicidal teen to test AI responses, while Article B reports on New York passing legislation restricting children's use of AI chatbots.”
The newest tech threat parents need to protect their kids from has arrived Different event
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Hedges 4 of 46 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses concerns about AI chatbots and an emergency declaration by Dr. Sherry Turkle, while Article B reports on a new law restricting children's use of AI chatbots in New York.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

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Publisher

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Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2389 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 If used by a minor, chatbots would not be able to produce any content that could leave its user to believe it “is human, alive, or experiences human emotions”, the law states.
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Topics

AFP ChatGPT Common Sense Media New York OpenAI

Subjects

New York GPE · 6× AFP ORG · 2× Common Sense Media ORG · 2× Hochul PERSON · 2× OpenAI ORG · 2× Anthropic ORG · 1× California GPE · 1× Jim Steyer PERSON · 1× Kathy Hochul PERSON · 1× Tech:NYC ORG · 1×

Narrative

It also cannot generate outputs that makes the user think it “has a personal relationship, professional relationship, or an authority figure role”, nor can it frame the content it produces as being a “personal opinion”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 If used by a minor, chatbots would not be able to produce any content that could leave its user to believe it “is human, alive, or experiences human emotions”, the law states.
2026-10-29 · The Straits Times
New York passes law restricting children’s use of AI chatbots · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 1 hedged)

New York passes law restricting children’s use of AI chatbots AI generated asserted
York → pass → AI
The governor of New York state signed a new law on Oct 28 preventing minors from using AI chatbots that act as companions, in one of the broadest moves yet for restricting consumer-facing models. asserted
that → sign → models
The law requires chatbot operators, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to verify the ages of users and restrict the use of certain traits by the artificial intelligence interface if the user is under 18. asserted
user → require → 18
If used by a minor, chatbots would not be able to produce any content that could leave its user to believe it “is human, alive, or experiences human emotions”, the law states. uncertain
law → use → emotions
It also cannot generate outputs that makes the user think it “has a personal relationship, professional relationship, or an authority figure role”, nor can it frame the content it produces as being a “personal opinion”. asserted
it → generate → content
“No longer will minors have access to chatbots that pretend to be their friends, boyfriends and girlfriends,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a signing ceremony on Oct 28. asserted
Hochul → have → Oct
“No longer will chatbots be able to keep sensitive information about a minor’s emotional and physical health,” Hochul added. asserted
Hochul → keep → health
Other US states including California have also passed laws restricting chatbots, but the law signed by Hochul imposes some of the broadest language in regulating the tech, prompting backlash from AI companies. asserted
law → include → companies
Tech:NYC, a tech industry advocacy group for the sector in New York, criticised the “vague language” of the law. asserted
Tech → criticise → law
“Keeping kids safe online should not mean cutting them off from tools that help them learn and prepare for careers,” the group said in a statement. asserted
group → keep → statement
AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to an AFP request for comment on the law. asserted
giants → respond → law
Common Sense Media, a non-profit advocacy group that provides guidelines for parents about media suitability for children, celebrated the bill’s passage, calling it “the strongest kids’ AI safety bill in the country”. asserted
that → provide → country
“AI companies offer chatbots with features that are dangerous, and even deadly, for kids and teens... asserted
that → offer → kids
Now, those harmful features will be outlawed in New York,” Common Sense Media chief executive Jim Steyer said in a statement. asserted
Steyer → outlaw → statement
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