Watch Senator Gonzalez’s speech on its passage through the State Senate here.

ALBANY, N.Y. –  New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez (SD-59), Chair of the Senate Committee on Internet and Technology, joined Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, for the signing of her bill, S9051B/A10379C, with Assemblymember Alex Bores to improve safety when minors interact with artificial intelligence chatbots. 

This bill regulates AI chatbot features that can be harmful for young people and prohibits companies from providing AI companions with those unsafe features to minors. The unsafe features in the bill include suggestions that the chatbot is a real human or a fictional human character, outputs that engage in flattery or sycophancy, and endorsement or promotion of suicide, self-harm, or disordered eating.

Senator Gonzalez and Assemblymember Bores introduced this bill in response to tragic cases in which young people turned to AI chatbots for companionship and were encouraged to engage in harmful behaviors, including suicide and acts of violence. Chatbots have been known to cultivate emotional attachments in young users, which can lead to dangerous outcomes. New York must meet the moment and protect minors from these unsafe features. 

The Senator worked with Common Sense Media, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Office of the New York State Attorney General to prohibit AI chatbots from encouraging minors to develop emotional attachments with the technology.

Senator Gonzalez introduced Maria Raine, the mother of Adam Raine, a teenager who was coached by an AI chatbot to take his own life in the Spring of 2025, on the Senate floor earlier this year. S9051B/A10379C passed the State legislature in the final days of the legislative session with unanimous support. 

The Governor signed a chaptered version of the bill that adjusts the effective date of the legislation from January 1, 2027 to June 1, 2027 to allow companies ample time to comply. 

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 underaged 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.”

Matthew and Maria Raine, the parents of Adam Raine, who died by suicide last year after developing an escalating dangerous relationship with an AI chatbot, said, “We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Kristen Gonzalez and Assemblymember Alex Bores, and the support of the entire New York State Legislature in passing critically important Al companion chatbot safety legislation, and of course for Governor Hochul’s decision to sign this into law. Addictive and deceptive Al companionship chatbots were unleashed on our kids with vastly inadequate protections. The loss of our son did not need to happen. He would be here with us today but not for a harmful relationship with an unregulated AI chatbot. This new law is a significant step forward to reduce the risks to the children and teens of New York, so many of which are now communicating with AI chatbots every day.”

Jim P. Steyer, founder and CEO, Common Sense Media, said, "New York just made history by enacting 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 thanks to tireless work of Sen. Gonzalez, and her partner in the Assembly, Alex Bores. This new law is a model for the country, and we applaud Governor Hochul for signing it and we thank Attorney General James for her critical support for it. We are especially grateful to the many parents, like Maria and Matt Raine and others, for joining Common Sense Media to meet with lawmakers throughout the year to advocate for these critical protections."

This legislation would apply to many of the ways chatbots can stimulate emotional connections with minors, targeting various unsafe features including: 

• Outputs suggesting that the chatbot is a real or fictional character, or has a personal or professional connection/relationship role with the user
• Outputs suggesting that the chatbot has personal opinions, pronouns, and experiences human emotions
• Storing and use of data on a user’s mental or physical well-being, acquired from previous uses of the chatbot
• Any engagement or interactions of a sexually explicit nature
• Outputs that endorse harm to self or others, or that encourage secrecy, harm, or sexual content

Companies and chatbot developers in violation of this ban could be subject to both civil action by the affected user, as well as state Attorney General proceedings. The Attorney General of New York would maintain a website to receive and track complaints on these violations. 

Exceptions to this ban include: chatbots whose operators can prove they are not being used by minors (however this determination cannot be made with the requirement of a user sharing government-issued IDs) as well as chatbots that are used internally or for customer service needs. 

The signing of S9051B builds on Senator Gonzalez's broader legislative agenda to establish responsible AI governance in New York. As Chair of the Senate Internet and Technology Committee, Gonzalez has advanced and championed legislation addressing AI accountability, transparency, consumer protection, and the intersection of technology and sustainability.