Source: Office of the Governor of Connecticut

Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-15 in Hartford, CT on June 2, 2026, establishing a multi-part bipartisan statute addressing youth online safety, regulation of artificial intelligence, and workforce training initiatives. The law was developed in collaboration with Attorney General William Tong and State Senator James Maroney (co-chair of the General Law committee), and the officials framed the state action as necessary due to perceived federal inaction in Washington, D.C. Statements from Lamont, Tong, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, Representative Hubert Delany, Senator Maroney, and Representative Gary Turco emphasize protections for children, transparency and fairness in AI-driven employment decisions, and investment in workforce readiness.

The statute requires social media companies to verify users’ ages and obtain parental or guardian consent for minors to access personalized algorithmic feeds, prohibits sending notifications to minors between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and sets a default limit of one hour per day for access to personalized algorithmic portions of platforms unless a parent or guardian modifies that default. Platforms must annually disclose statistics including numbers who obtained parental consent, usage of default settings, and average time spent. For AI, chatbot operators must make reasonable efforts to detect suicidal ideation or indicators of self-harm and have protocols to respond with appropriate resources. The law also mandates employment disclosures when AI is used in hiring or employment decisions, creates programs and partnerships (including an AI Academy, training for nonprofits and small businesses, a regulatory sandbox, and a Yale partnership to incentivize healthcare innovation) to build AI literacy and upskill Connecticut’s workforce.