New NYS proposal focused on children previewed ahead of State of the State address
The proposal looks to protect children against online predators, scammers and harmful artificial intelligence chatbots used on virtual platforms.
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On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul previewed a new proposal aimed at protecting kids online and addressing, what she says, is a youth mental health crisis.
The proposal looks to protect children against online predators, scammers and harmful artificial intelligence chatbots used on virtual platforms.
This comes following the states bell-to-bell ban on phones in school, which Gov. Hochul says has critically helped to not only improve communication within schools, but mental health.
"As a mom, we want our children to grow up as kids. not scrolling, not comparing, or feeling pressure to the addictive social media feeds designed to keep them hooked. We're facing a mental health crisis among our children," said concerned parent and advocate, Kate Chudoba.
Expanding age verification on sites, privacy settings being defaulted for minors, and disabling artificial intelligent chat bot features are some of the key parts.
"Kids don't have the full capacity to regulate their emotions, to know what's safe, what's not, to know what's real and what's not. I think it's really important that parents, and educators, and all kinds of community members are involved in kids access to social media and other things on the internet," said Lauren Tetenbaum, psychotherapist and Scarsdale mother of two.
Apart of the proposal is a statewide expansion of teen mental health first aid training, so young people can identify if their friends or peers need help.
The program will be aimed towards all 10th graders across the state, making sure more than 180,000 students have, "the basic skills to support each other."
In the coming weeks, Gov. Hochul will announce the next steps during her 2026 State of the State Address.
