"Under the proposal, non-connections would be unable to message children, view their profiles or tag them in content, and location settings would be turned off by default. Children younger than 13 would need parental approval for new connections. The legislation would also disable certain artificial intelligence chatbot features for minors, require parental approval for financial transactions tied to a child's account and allow parents of children under 13 to view their child's list of approved friends."
"Gaming and social media platforms could soon be required to comply with stricter child protection laws in New York state, aimed at preventing companies from profiting off the exploitation of children, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Jan. 13 during her 2026 State of the State address. Hochul said major components of the Stop Online Predators Act, or SOPA, will be included in her proposed 2026 state budget as part of a broader effort to strengthen online safety for children."
"SOPA was drafted by its cosponsors, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) and Assembly Member Nily Rozic (D-Queens), in response to what they describe as a growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center estimates that roughly 500,000 online predators are active each day, with children ages 12 to 15 particularly vulnerable to grooming and exploitation."
Major components of the Stop Online Predators Act (SOPA) are proposed for inclusion in the 2026 New York state budget to strengthen online safety for children. The proposal would expand age-verification requirements and set default privacy protections for minors. Non-connections would be blocked from messaging children, viewing profiles, or tagging them, and location settings would be turned off by default. Children under 13 would need parental approval for new connections and parents could view approved friend lists. The proposal would disable certain AI chatbot features for minors, require parental approval for child-related financial transactions, and impose civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation.
Read at Brooklyn Paper
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