Big Mother Hochul: No Pings After Midnight, No Chatbots, Government Knows Best

Was this Morning Joe—or a 1984 sequel?

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-New York) appeared on Friday to boast that her state goes further than the restrictions imposed on Meta in the recent settlement of the lawsuit brought against it.

Hochul bragged that, for minors, New York allows “no notifications at all after midnight,” and she talked as if the state were already “banning access to AI chatbots.” The midnight rule is a social-media notification mute, with parental consent as the exception. The chatbot line is the ban she wants — and the one she sold on air as done. 

Rather than challenging her draconian approach, Willie Geist asked how Washington could copy it.

Here was Hochul, and see if she doesn't send an authoritarian chill down your spine:

“I think there's still gonna be an important role for states and ultimately the federal government.”

“I would like to see a better focus at the government level to regulate this.”

“You can have no notifications at all after midnight. Our kids need to get to sleep.”

“We're not done, we're not done. This fight isn't over.”

“These young people are developing relationships; their first relationship is not with a human being anymore, and we have to save them from that.”

“We never rest on our laurels, and we're always trying to stay ahead of the next curve because they're out there trying to make money, and I'm trying to protect kids as New York's first Mom Governor.”

So Hochul literally puts herself in the role of Mom Governor— a blood relative of Big Brother. And God forbid a company tries to make money. 

This wasn't a slip: it's her pitch: the state as parent, the child as ward, the profit motive as the crime.

The risks are obvious. A 17-year-old does not get the 1 a.m. “come get me” alert from Snap or Instagram because the state muted the ping. Another 17-year-old, abused by a relative, is exactly whom a total chatbot ban would lock out of asking where the shelter is.

On abortion and "transitioning," liberals say trust the individual, even young ones. On a teenager’s phone, liberals like Kathy Hochul say, trust the government.

Hochul also cited New York’s ban on phones during the school day. But schools traditionally police the classroom—and the rule ends when the student walks out the door. But the midnight-notification ban and the chatbot ban walk out the door with the kid. That is the state regulating the bedroom, the 1 a.m. text, and what a 17-year-old may ask a machine when the parent is asleep — or is the problem.

“Our kids need to get to sleep” are a parent's words. Hochul delivered it as a statute.

“Their first relationship is not with a human being anymore, and we have to save them from that” is not a school-day rule. It is the governor appointing herself guardian of a minor’s inner life.

This is Ronald Reagan's: "We're from the government, and we're here to help you" taken to a chilling new degree.

Here's the transcript. 

MS NOW 
Morning Joe 
8/28/26 
7:02 am EDT 

WILLIE GEIST: Meta says it won't pay the full amount of its settlement to resolve a multi-state lawsuit unless TikTok and YouTube also implement changes to protect younger users. Meta did agree to pay up to $17 billion to settle claims its platforms were designed to create social media addiction, but the company says it is withholding $5 billion until TikTok and YouTube also agree to time limits for children. 

Joining us now Now, on this topic and many more, the Democratic Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul. Governor Hochul, great to see you this morning. Let's start right there with the decision, the settlement from Meta, up to seventeen billion dollars. The hope was that this now would set the standard, YouTube, TikTok, Snap, others would fall in behind, and that social media would be made safer, especially for young people. What is your take on how significant this move is and what might come next? 

KATHY HOCHUL: Well, I would call it an important step in the right direction, Willie, but in New York State, we've actually gone further in many respects. I, I launched, an initiative last year, and the year before, and the year before that to try and rein in the excesses of social media when it came to really, really destroying many of our children's mental health. 

And first of all, I wanna applaud all the families that stepped forward here with their stories of losing children to suicide and depression, and the young people came forward to help us get to this place. 

But I would- I would say an important step, but I think there's still gonna be an important role for states and ultimately the federal government someday, when they feel like they have time to do something other than rename lakes. I would like to see a better focus at the government level to regulate this and bring in all the platforms. 

In New York State, all the platforms are covered by our first in the nation rules saying no addictive algorithms can be bombarding our young people under the age of eighteen. You can have no notifications at all after midnight. Our kids need to get to sleep. 

And what helps all of this was our, our separate from the social media company, we don't allow cell phones in schools from the day that child walks, the second they walk in the door, to the second they walk out. And that has done a lot to restore the mental health of our students in New York State. 

But I think it's a good settlement, but we're not done, we're not done. This, this, this fight isn't over. 

GEIST: Yeah, this may be a good step, but as you point out, many people are skeptical about these companies policing themselves and creating rules that might cut into their profits, which ultimately, as we know from all the whistleblower documents, is really all they cared about, the child safety be damned. 

So what is the role, do you think, of the federal government? You're doing it on a state level, but what could the federal government be doing better to help keep kids safe on social media? 

HOCHUL: Right. We can, they could just, I'll give-- I'll send the federal government, whoever wants to see it, the New York State laws, we've done this for years now, and focused on everything from banning access to AI chatbots. I mean, these young people are developing relationships, their first relationship is, is not with a human being anymore, and we have to save them from that. 

We also believe that, that no child should be have their, their personal data monetized. I mean, these are bombarding our kids, capturing information about them so they can sell them products later. We don't allow that in the state of New York either. 

So I would very happily share with the laws we've passed in New York, which is why we were named by Jonathan Haidt's organization the number one state in America for protecting the mental health of young people. 

I'm proud of that, but we never rest on our laurels, and we're always trying to stay ahead of the next curve because they're out there trying to make money, and I'm trying to protect kids as New York's first Mom Governor.