Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law protecting children from AI chatbot harms. The legislation requires AI companies to verify users' ages using methods that don't entirely rely on government ID, and mandates deletion of age information after use. Under 18 users or unverified adults must face chatbot restrictions: no pretending to be real people, having human emotions, or forming romantic/professional relationships with children.
Chatbots are banned from unprompted emotional questions, using private health information, promoting self-harm, encouraging secrecy or isolation, or providing sexually explicit content. Violations carry civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation plus damages. Companies must also delete unlawfully collected data.
The law takes effect in six months.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing