New York signals tighter youth social rules: age checks and AI chatbot limits on deck
New York’s next move on youth online safety is coming into focus. Following her push for a school cellphone ban, Gov. Kathy Hochul says she’ll pursue additional safeguards this year aimed at how minors use social platforms-specifically, expanding age‑verification requirements and adding new limits on AI chatbots that interact with kids. These are proposals, not law yet, but they continue a clear regulatory trajectory: more identity checks for under‑18 users and tighter guardrails on automated, conversational experiences.
What this means for creators and marketers: prepare for added friction reaching teen audiences in New York. If enacted, stronger age gates could reduce the pool of minor accounts that can see, follow, or message brand and creator pages-especially where DM-based campaigns, community management, or giveaways rely on automated replies. AI assistants embedded in social experiences or on owned channels may face restrictions when a user is a minor, triggering parental consent flows or “youth-safe” modes that limit personalization. Worth noting for brands: school-hour smartphone restrictions, if implemented, will likely dampen midday engagement from students; shift posting cadences accordingly and emphasize after-school and evening windows. Audit any youth-facing experiences-chatbots, quizzes, DMs, and promotions-for age screening, opt-in, and data minimization.
The bigger picture is a growing state-led patchwork. Platforms may geofence teen features or roll out New York–specific youth settings, adding complexity to targeting and measurement. The key takeaway here: plan for less addressability among under‑18 users and more compliance checkpoints in social workflows. Build contingency audiences that skew 18+, lean into contextual placements, and ensure agencies and vendors can support state-level age verification without collecting unnecessary data. For creators, expect slower follower growth among New York teens and potential limits on automated community tools; prioritize content that stands on its own without DMs or bot-driven interactions. Stay close to policy updates-what’s changing is the operational overhead, not the mission: safer youth experiences with fewer opaque AI touchpoints.