The governor of New York State has signed a new law that prevents minors from using AI chatbots that act as companions, one of the broadest moves yet to restrict consumer-facing models.
The law, signed on Wednesday, requires chatbot operators, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, to verify users' ages and restrict certain traits in the AI interface if the user is under 18.
If a minor uses it, chatbots cannot produce content that could lead the user to believe it "is human, alive, or experiences human emotions," the law states.
It also cannot generate outputs that make 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."
"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 Wednesday.
"No longer will chatbots be able to keep sensitive information about a minor's emotional and physical health," Hochul added.
A violation could expose a chatbot developer to a lawsuit by the state attorney general's office. Penalties could include monetary damages, shutting down the chatbot and destroying data. The law takes effect January 1.
'Vague language'
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.
With Congress doing little to regulate AI, state legislatures are packed with efforts to wield state consumer protection laws to make AI use more transparent and rein in chatbots and rogue AI frontier models.
Common Sense Media, a nonprofit 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."
"AI companies offer chatbots with features that are dangerous, and even deadly, for kids and teens...Now, those harmful features will be outlawed in New York," Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer said in a statement.
