New York lawmakers embrace bill to ban AI chatbots in toys; California considering it too

Alarmed by the release of untested and developmentally harmful chatbot toys, legislators in New York and California have proposed a five-year moratorium on their manufacture and sale.

June 4, 2026 — Proposals that would prohibit the sale of toys that contain AI chatbots are finding favor with lawmakers in both New York and California.

Today’s AI-driven plushies, dolls, action figures, and robots use highly sophisticated technology to interact with children like a trusted friend. They use the same untested, unsafe AI tech behind ChatGPT. A number of recent studies have found the toys to be entirely inappropriate for kids.

Lawmakers in New York and California are responding to the concerns of parents and child development experts by proposing a five-year moratorium on the manufacture and sale of chatbot toys.

That would effectively create a cooling-off period during which policy makers, child development experts, parents, AI developers, and toy manufacturers could take a deeper look into the safety of AI-driven toys instead of just releasing them and using children as beta testers.

In California: approved by senate, now with assembly

California’s SB 87, sponsored by Sen. Steve Padilla, has been quietly and steadily moving forward in Sacramento. Padilla was the sponsor of last year’s enacted SB 243, which became the nation’s first state law to address the rise of AI companion chatbots and the harms they present to kids. That measure was a response to the alarming rise in children and teens harmed by chatbots.

Padilla’s new chatbot toy bill works with existing state law that regulates the manufacture and sale of toys contaminated with a toxic substance. Given the growing concern over the safety of AI chatbots for kids, SB 87 would effectively create a five-year moratorium on the sale of chatbot toys, the sale of which would be banned until Jan. 1, 2031.

SB 87 was approved by the California Senate, 39-0, on May 28 and now moves to the Assembly.

In New yOrk: A quick two-chamber vote

Meanwhile, in New York, a similar bill has been circulating in Albany under the radar. Sponsored by Sen. Andrew Gounardes, co-sponsor of last year’s landmark RAISE Act, S9408A would prohibit the manufacture, exchange, distribution and sale of chatbot toys for five years following the act’s effective date.

Gounardes’ measure moved with unexpected speed last week, passing the Senate on June 1 and then the Assembly on June 2. The New York proposal would be enforced by the attorney general, with a civil penalty of up to $15,000 per day for every violation.

S9408A was slightly amended by the Assembly, and is now back with the Senate for concurrence.

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