New York SAFE for Kids Act: Requirements, Rulemaking, and Implementation Timeline

By the GovBuddy team · Last reviewed September 30, 2026

Where things stand

Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York’s SAFE for Kids Act on June 20, 2024. It still isn’t in effect.

Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Hochul announced the final implementing rules on July 28, 2026, and the rules ran in the New York State Register on July 29. The statute takes effect 180 days after that publication date, which lands on January 25, 2027.

Covered platforms are in the gap between those two dates now. Below, we separate what the statute says from what the final rules add, and track the timeline as of September 30, 2026.

Keep one date distinction in mind. January 25, 2027 is the effective date. The statute’s remedies provision bars the Attorney General from bringing an enforcement action until at least 180 days after it.

Quick answer

The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act was sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, and Governor Hochul signed it on June 20, 2024. It restricts algorithmically personalized "addictive feeds" for users under 18 unless the platform obtains verifiable parental consent. It also restricts notifications to minors between midnight and 6 a.m. Eastern Time unless the required parental consent has been obtained.

The Attorney General’s office released the final rules on July 28, 2026. They were published in the State Register a day later, and the Act takes effect January 25, 2027. Civil penalties can reach $5,000 per violation, alongside other remedies, but the Attorney General has to wait at least 180 days past the effective date to bring an enforcement action.

As of September 30, 2026, the Act is not yet in effect.

Table of contents

• What the SAFE for Kids Act does on paper
• What the final rules require
• The implementation timeline through January 25, 2027
• Who has to comply and what "addictive feed" means
• Enforcement and penalties
• Possible court challenges
• What families, platforms, and stakeholders should know now

What the SAFE for Kids Act does on paper

The Act governs how covered social media platforms present content and send notifications to users under 18.

Its main target is the "addictive feed," which the statute defines around content an algorithm personalizes using information associated with the user. A covered platform may not show one to a user under 18 unless the statute’s parental-consent or age-status requirements are satisfied.

Notifications get similar treatment. Between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, a covered platform may not send them to users under 18 unless the parental-consent requirements are met.

Neither rule works unless the platform knows who is a minor. So the law requires platforms to determine whether users are minors, and sets requirements for getting verifiable parental consent when a minor is allowed an addictive feed or nighttime notifications that would otherwise be restricted.

The details were left to the Attorney General, who has authority to write implementing rules on age assurance, parental consent, and other compliance matters.

The bill passed both houses in the 2024 legislative session. It is now codified in New York law.

What the final rules require

The rules sit in Part 700 of Title 13 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. They cover definitions, addictive feeds, nighttime notifications, age assurance, certification, appeals, data use and protection, remedies, and related implementation matters.

Age assurance gets the most specific treatment. The rules don’t name a required technology. Platforms choose their own methods, and those methods have to meet standards for accuracy, privacy, and security. At least one available method must work without a government-issued ID. Accuracy has to be tested every year, with the results kept for at least 10 years.

The information platforms collect for age assurance and parental consent is regulated as well. The rules limit how it is collected, used, retained, and protected.

Where consent is required, the rules set out how platforms obtain and verify it. Either the minor or the parent can withdraw it later. The rules also limit what information a platform can ask for as part of the consent process, and anyone building a consent flow should read those Part 700 provisions directly.

Users who turn 18 age out of the minor-specific restrictions, and platforms need to plan for that.

This is a summary. The regulations themselves are the authoritative text on technical and procedural requirements, and platforms should get legal advice on how they apply to their own products and systems.

The implementation timeline through January 25, 2027

Platforms get 180 days between rule publication and the effective date to prepare. The statute then adds a further minimum of 180 days before the Attorney General can bring an enforcement action.

Most of the preparation is review work: age-assurance methods, consent processes, notification controls, feed design, and data handling, each checked against the final rules.

Who has to comply and what "addictive feed" means

The Act applies to "Addictive Online Platforms." The statute defines the category and the final rules fill in the detail, pointing to platforms that display user-generated content and meet the statutory criteria for how much of users’ time goes to addictive feeds. The Attorney General puts that threshold at users spending at least 20 percent of their time on the platform’s addictive feeds.

Because the 20 percent figure is part of the regulatory framework for deciding coverage, it carries more weight than a general industry estimate would. Part 700 has the detailed definitions and measurement requirements.

Plenty of websites and online services are regulated differently or not at all. The Act reaches covered platforms, and within them, two features: addictive feeds and nighttime notifications.

The exact definitions are in General Business Law Article 45 and the final Part 700 regulations.

Reach the right New York offices with GovBuddy Connect

Implementing the SAFE for Kids Act involves the Attorney General’s office, legislative offices, covered platforms, and organizations working on online-safety policy. Later legislation, rule changes, guidance, or enforcement could involve more state offices and stakeholders.

GovBuddy Connect provides human-verified legislative directories for California, New York, and Ohio, covering legislators, staff, and committees. California coverage also includes registered lobbyists. The same Sacramento team has maintained the California directory since 1973.

If an implementation or policy question means finding the right New York office or legislative contact, Connect gives your team a current directory to work from.

See GovBuddy Connect →

Enforcement and penalties

Enforcement belongs to the New York Attorney General. The statute lets the office bring an action or special proceeding seeking an injunction, restitution, disgorgement, damages, destruction of unlawfully obtained data, and civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation.

Those actions can’t start on January 25, 2027. General Business Law §1508 says the Attorney General may bring one no earlier than 180 days after the effective date. Count forward and the earliest date is July 24, 2027.

The Attorney General must also run a website where people can send complaints, information, or referrals about compliance or non-compliance with the Act.

Which matters the office takes up first will depend on future agency activity and on specific cases.

Possible court challenges

The Act sits within a larger legal debate over state regulation of social media, age assurance, algorithmic feeds, and content-related platform practices.

NetChoice, an industry trade association, publicly criticized the final rules after their release and called the regime unconstitutional. That is NetChoice’s stated position. A trade group saying a law is unconstitutional is different from a court ruling that it is.

Whether a lawsuit has been filed against the SAFE for Kids Act, and where any such case stands, should be checked in current federal court and appellate records. The picture may change as litigation develops.

The Supreme Court decided Moody v. NetChoice in 2024, on challenges to social media laws in Florida and Texas. It didn’t resolve every constitutional question other state laws might raise, so any case over New York’s law will turn on its own claims, court decisions, and procedural posture.

What families, platforms, and stakeholders should know now

Platforms that might be covered should first confirm whether they are. The final rules are out and January 25, 2027 is less than four months away. After that, the job is reviewing age assurance, parental consent, addictive-feed controls, nighttime-notification controls, and data practices against the rules.

For families, the Act’s requirements don’t begin until January 25, 2027. From that date, covered platforms will have to restrict addictive feeds and nighttime notifications for users under 18 unless the statute’s parental-consent requirements are met.

Child online safety groups now have final rules to work from. The policy can still change through new legislation, rule changes, agency guidance, or litigation.

Technology companies have the detailed framework they need to assess before the effective date. Questions about coverage, age assurance, consent, data handling, and feed or notification design should be answered from the statute and regulations themselves. A summary won’t be enough.

For background on how New York’s legislative and rulemaking cycles work, GovBuddy’s coverage of the New York legislative calendar and staff contacts publishes in December.

Frequently asked questions

Is the SAFE for Kids Act in effect?

No. Governor Hochul signed it in June 2024 and the final rules were published on July 29, 2026. It takes effect on January 25, 2027.

Who sponsored the SAFE for Kids Act?

State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Nily Rozic.

What does the law restrict?

Two things, for users under 18 on covered platforms. Addictive feeds are off unless the statutory requirements, including parental consent where applicable, are met. Notifications between midnight and 6 a.m. Eastern Time are off unless the consent requirements are met.

Which platforms are covered?

"Addictive Online Platforms," as the statute and final regulations define them. The rules address platforms that display user-generated content and meet a threshold for time spent on addictive feeds, which the Attorney General identifies as 20 percent.

How is age verified under the final rules?

Platforms pick their methods, subject to standards set by the rules. At least one method has to work without a government-issued ID. Accuracy testing is annual, and results must be kept for at least 10 years.

Can a parent withdraw consent after granting it?

Yes. So can the minor.

Who enforces the SAFE for Kids Act?

The New York Attorney General. Civil penalties go up to $5,000 per violation, with other remedies available, but an enforcement action under the remedies provision can’t be brought until at least 180 days after the January 25, 2027 effective date.

Are there any court challenges to the SAFE for Kids Act?

NetChoice has publicly criticized the final rules and called them unconstitutional, which is its position as a trade group. Check current court records for the status of any specific litigation.

Where can I read the final rules?

The Attorney General’s office publishes them as Part 700 of Title 13 NYCRR. They cover definitions, addictive feeds, nighttime notifications, age assurance, certification, appeals, data protection, remedies, and related provisions.

Sources

• Attorney General James and Governor Hochul Release Final SAFE for Kids Act Rules to Protect Children Online, Office of the New York State Attorney General, July 28, 2026
• SAFE for Kids Act Implementing Rules, New York Attorney General, Part 700 of Title 13 NYCRR
• New York General Business Law, Article 45: SAFE for Kids Act, New York State Senate
• General Business Law §1508: Remedies, New York State Senate
• A.8148-A / S.7694-A legislative record, New York State Senate
• New York’s Final SAFE for Kids Rules Cement an Unconstitutional Censorship Regime, NetChoice, July 29, 2026