Did you ever think that AI, as a new technology, is barely regulated in the U.S.?
Think again!
Below, we catalog certain current state laws regulating the development and use of AI systems and technologies passed between 2019 and 2025. This list focuses on legislative initiatives that have passed and are in effect or expected to come into effect, impacting private sector businesses.
Note that these laws include criminal liability in some cases and may form the grounds on which future plaintiffs’ litigation will be based. We also note that many other states have proposed laws in varying stages of adoption related to AI.
As your enterprise navigates the creation and integration of AI and AI tools into your product and service offerings, understanding and complying with these laws should be an integral part of your business operations.
The Morris, Manning & Martin privacy, tech, and AI teams can help assess for new or existing clients.
Arkansas
- HB 1071 – Provides protection for individuals whose photograph, voice, or likeness is reproduced through means of AI and used in a commercial context.
California
- SB 942 (AI Transparency Act) – Places requirements on providers of AI systems, such as implementing an AI detection tool, making certain disclosures, and contracting requirements with users.
- AB 2602 – Makes certain contracts for the performance of personal or professional services unenforceable when involving digital replicas of the voice or likeness of an individual.
- AB 2905 – Regulates the use of automatic dialing/announcing devices in telecommunications and requires that when such calls utilize AI-generated voices or messages, the call must begin with an unrecorded, natural voice announcement stating certain information about the nature of the call, AI-generated voice print, the business represented, and asking for consent to hear the message.
- AB 1836 – Prohibits the creation or distribution of digital replicas of deceased personalities without permission from their estate.
- SB 981 – Requires social media platforms to establish a mechanism for users to report sexually explicit deepfakes and to remove or block such content.
- AB 3030 – Requires healthcare providers utilizing generative AI to generate written or verbal patient communications to include an AI disclaimer and instructions on contacting a human as an alternative.
- SB 1120 (the Physicians Make Decisions Act) – Prohibits certain health insurer activities that are based on AI algorithms, requires that algorithms be applied fairly and equitably, and criminalizes willful violations.
- SB 1001 – Makes it unlawful to use a “bot” to communicate with CA residents online with the intent to mislead the individual regarding the bot’s artificial identity when marketing goods or services to the individual or when attempting to influence a vote or election.
- AB 1008 - Clarifies that California’s existing privacy laws are extended to generative AI-produced content as well and that “personal information” can include “abstract digital formats.” The law aims to remove any arguable exclusion from CCPA for personal data generated by generative AI and large language models.
- AB 2855 - Creates a uniform definition for AI in CA law - states that artificial intelligence is defined as “an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments.”
Colorado
- SB 205 (Colorado AI Act) – A comprehensive consumer-facing privacy law, the first of its kind in the US, placing obligations on developers and deployers of AI systems and technologies, particularly in the context of “high-risk” AI systems.
- SB 169 – Adds protections for consumers against unfair discrimination in insurance practices, including via AI algorithms.
Georgia
- H 203 – Permits the use of AI as an assessment mechanism to conduct eye assessments or to generate prescriptions for contact lenses or spectacles, but places certain restrictions on the use of AI in such contexts.
Illinois
- HB 3773 - Amends the IL Human Rights Act. Requires employers to notify employees when AI is being used in connection with employment decisions. Prohibits employers from using AI in connection with recruitment, hiring, promotion, renewal of employment, selection for training or apprenticeship, discharge, discipline, tenure, or the terms, privileges, or conditions of employment in a way that subjects an employee to any discrimination based on either their protected class or their zip code.
- HB 2557 (Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act) – Requires disclosures to applicants when AI is used by employers to analyze video interviews. Employers that rely solely on AI to determine whether an applicant will qualify for an in-person interview must gather and report certain demographic information to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Requires the department to analyze the data and report to the governor and General Assembly whether the data discloses a racial bias in the use of artificial intelligence.
- HB 4762 (Digital Voice and Likeness Protection Act) – Protects performers and other individuals from unauthorized use of AI voice or melody and provides that certain contract provisions regarding digital replicas are unenforceable.
- HB 4875 – Prohibits the distribution of a sound recording or audiovisual content containing unauthorized digital replicas, which includes AI-generated content of an actual individual in which the individual did not actually perform or appear, without the consent of the individual.
Maryland
- HB 1202 – Prohibits employers from using certain facial recognition services during an applicant’s interview for employment without the applicant's consent.
New Jersey
- AB 4563 – Prohibits the use of a “bot” to communicate or interact with New Jersey residents in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise or real estate or to solicit political support without a disclosure that the communication is conducted via a bot.
New York
- NYC Local Law 144 – Prohibits employers and employment agencies from using AI for automated employment decisions in New York City unless they ensure a bias audit was performed and have provided notices to applicants.
- SB 5959 – Prohibits the use of a deceased performer’s name, voice, photograph, etc., without the prior consent of the performer’s successor. Establishes a right of publicity for successors in the interest of deceased performers. Provides a private right of action for unlawful dissemination or publication of a sexually explicit digitized depiction of a deceased individual.
- SB 7676 - Provides that certain contract provisions regarding digital replicas are unenforceable due to being contrary to public policy.
Rhode Island
- H 6654 - Provides that an assessment mechanism, including artificial intelligence devices, used to conduct an eye assessment or to generate a prescription for contact lenses or glasses in Rhode Island shall meet specified requirements.
South Carolina
- H 4754 - Outlines requirements for providers of pre-licensing and continuing education courses for real estate brokers, brokers-in-charge, associates, and property managers. Provides that a licensee is responsible for all work products produced by the licensee or with the assistance of AI, machine learning, or similar programs.
Tennessee
- HB 2091 (ELVIS Act) – Amends the state’s right of publicity law to prohibit the use of AI to impersonate or mimic a performer’s voice without the consent of the performer. Creates new causes of action regarding the same.
Utah
- SB 149 (AI Policy Act, as amended) – Requires disclosures by companies using generative AI to consumers when consumers clearly ask the business whether AI is being used. Requires further disclosures when a business is a “regulated” occupation and when consumers receive services in “high-risk” contexts, such as financial or health contexts.
- HB 452 – In the context of mental health AI chatbots, requires clear and conspicuous initial disclosures that interactions are not with a human and requires further disclosure after a consumer asks whether AI is being used. Restricts the chatbots from conducting any marketing unless certain further disclosures are included. Prohibits the use of AI inputs to determine whether to provide advertisements. Prohibits chatbot providers from selling or sharing any identifiable health data with third parties, subject to certain exceptions.
- SB 271 – Prohibits the unauthorized commercial use of AI to create simulated personal identities for commercial purposes. Simulated identities include those created by generative AI, computer animation, or other technical means. Unauthorized use is defined as using an individual’s likeness in a commercial context in a way that implies the individual has approved of or endorsed the product.
Virginia
- H 2154 – Requires hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities to ensure permissible patient access to intelligent personal assistants that utilize AI while receiving inpatient services.
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Please note that, in addition and not discussed here, several states have passed laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the context of political advertisements/communications and sexually explicit content. States have also passed numerous laws establishing government task forces, grants, or research bodies or initiatives to further review, research, and advise AI technologies.
MMM contacts:
- Michael Young, Partner, at myoung@mmmlaw.com or 404.495.8481
- Roy Hadley, Special Counsel, at rhadley@mmmlaw.com or 404.364.3179
- Beau Braswell, Senior Associate, at bbraswell@mmmlaw.com or 404.364.4574
The above information is provided by Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship. Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP notes that the above list may not be exhaustive or complete.
