// ENGADGET — INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE
New York governor signs AI chatbot child safety law
A separate law aims to shore up security on connected baby monitors.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a law that aims to protect children from AI chatbot harms. The legislation requires AI companies to verify users' ages. They'll need to offer users at least one verification method that doesn't entirely rely on government ID. Companies will have to delete this "age information" after use.
If a user is under 18 or a company has yet to confirm the person is an adult, their chatbot will need to abide by certain restrictions. For instance, it cannot pretend "to be a real person, to be alive or to have human emotions." According to a press release, the legislation also bans chatbots from:
Claiming a personal, romantic, professional or authority-figure relationship with a child
Unprompted emotional questions, and using a child's private health or personal information from earlier conversations
Promoting or helping with suicide, self harm, eating disorders or drug and alcohol use
Encouraging kids to keep secrets, isolate themselves or avoid asking parents, trusted adults or professionals for help
Any sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material
There will be a website through which the public can file complaints to New York's attorney general. Companies that break the law may be on the hook for civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, as well as damages, restitution and other forms of relief. They may also have to delete any data they collect unlawfully along with models trained on that information. The law will take effect in six months.
"Under this new law sponsored by Senator Gonzalez and Assemblymember Bores, no longer will minors have access to chatbots that pretend to be their friends and boyfriends and girlfriends," Hochul said at a press conference. "No longer will chatbots be allowed to keep sensitive information about a minor's emotional and physical health. No longer will chatbots discourage kids from seeking help from licensed professionals. And I'm not sure why we have to pass a law against something so obvious, but no longer will minors have access to chatbots that may in any way encourage thoughts of suicide. Now, this law builds on our groundbreaking Safe for Kids Act that sent a message loud and clear to technology companies: We will not allow you to monetize our children's mental health."