SIIA Urges Refinements to New York S9051 to Protect Innovation and Student Access to AI Tools

SIIA submitted a letter to Senator Kristen Gonzalez expressing concerns with S9051, legislation that would prohibit certain chatbot features for minors in New York. While supporting the goal of protecting young users as AI technologies evolve, SIIA outlined several provisions that it believes are overly broad, vague, or technically infeasible, and warned they could unintentionally undermine educational tools, digital equity, privacy, and innovation.

In particular, SIIA raised concerns about the bill's restrictions on conversational AI features, limits on contextual memory, sweeping age-verification requirements, and the inclusion of a private right of action. The association urged lawmakers to refine the proposal and allow New York's existing AI Companion Models Law to take effect before layering on additional regulatory requirements.