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HF406 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.

A bill for an act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
WICHTENDAHL
Last action
2025-03-05
Official status
Subcommittee recommends passage.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.

A bill for an act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-03-05 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  2. 2025-03-04 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 03/05/2025 12:15PM RM 102.

  3. 2025-03-04 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Barker, Andrews and Wichtendahl. H.J. 502 .

  4. 2025-02-13 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Economic Growth and Technology. H.J. 327 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and creating a civil cause of action.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

406

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

406

BY

WICHTENDAHL

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

restrictions

on

the

use

of

artificial

1

intelligence,

and

creating

a

civil

cause

of

action.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

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Section

1.

NEW

SECTION

.

554I.1

Definitions.

1

1.

“Application”

means

a

software

program

designed

for

an

2

electronic

device

to

enable

a

user

to

perform

a

particular

3

task

or

set

of

related

tasks

including

checking

the

weather,

4

playing

games,

accessing

social

media,

or

managing

personal

5

information,

within

the

capabilities

of

the

electronic

device.

6

2.

“Artificial

intelligence”

means

any

machine-based

system

7

that,

for

any

explicit

or

implicit

objective,

infers

from

the

8

inputs

the

system

receives

to

generate

outputs,

including

9

content,

decisions,

predictions,

or

recommendations,

that

can

10

influence

physical

or

virtual

environments.

11

3.

“Developer”

means

a

person

who,

in

this

state,

creates

12

or

substantially

modifies

artificial

intelligence

or

an

13

application

that

uses

artificial

intelligence.

14

4.

a.

“Device

company”

means

a

person

engaged

in

the

15

business

of

manufacturing

smart

devices

and

that

has

a

16

registered

office,

a

registered

agent,

or

a

business

office

in

17

this

state.

18

b.

“Device

company”

includes

a

registrant

as

defined

in

19

section

548.101,

that

engages

in

the

business

of

manufacturing

20

smart

devices.

21

5.

“Initialize”

means

the

process

of

starting

a

smart

device

22

and

associating

the

smart

device

with

a

new

user

account.

23

6.

“Private

data”

means

data

that

artificial

intelligence,

24

or

an

application

that

includes

artificial

intelligence,

25

accesses

on

a

smart

device,

and

that

is

not

any

of

the

26

following:

27

a.

Content

that

was

generated

by

using

the

artificial

28

intelligence

or

the

application

on

the

smart

device.

29

b.

Content

to

which

the

artificial

intelligence’s

developer

30

or

the

application’s

developer

had

previously

received

31

authorization

to

access

for

purposes

described

in

the

smart

32

device’s

statement

of

purpose

or

the

application’s

statement

33

of

purpose.

34

7.

“Smart

device”

means

a

computer,

smartphone,

gaming

35

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console,

tablet

computer,

or

other

electronic

device

capable

1

of

running

software

to

download,

install,

or

use

artificial

2

intelligence

and

that

was

sold

in

this

state

on

or

after

July

3

1,

2025.

4

8.

“Statement

of

purpose”

means

a

statement

made

for

an

5

application

or

smart

device

that

explains

all

of

the

following:

6

a.

The

types

of

private

data

the

application

or

smart

device

7

was

designed

to

access.

8

b.

How

the

private

data

will

be

used,

including

but

not

9

limited

to

the

types

of

new

content

the

private

data

will

be

10

used

to

generate

and

how

the

new

content

will

be

used.

11

c.

If

the

application

or

smart

device

is

designed

to

save,

12

copy,

or

otherwise

transfer

private

data

to

a

location

outside

13

the

smart

device,

an

explanation

of

how

and

where

private

data

14

will

be

maintained,

disseminated,

and

deleted,

as

applicable.

15

Sec.

2.

NEW

SECTION

.

554I.2

Device

company

requirements.

16

1.

a.

If

a

device

company

makes

a

smart

device

available

17

for

purchase

with

artificial

intelligence

installed

on

the

18

smart

device,

the

device

company

shall

cause

an

agreement

to

19

appear

when

a

user

initializes

the

smart

device.

The

agreement

20

shall

contain

all

of

the

following:

21

(1)

A

notice

to

the

smart

device’s

user

that

the

smart

22

device

has

artificial

intelligence

installed

on

the

smart

23

device.

24

(2)

If

the

smart

device’s

artificial

intelligence

is

25

designed

to

access

the

user’s

private

data,

the

smart

device’s

26

statement

of

purpose.

27

(3)

(a)

An

option

to

uninstall

the

artificial

intelligence.

28

(b)

If

the

smart

device’s

user

does

not

uninstall

the

29

artificial

intelligence

under

subparagraph

division

(a),

an

30

interactive

form

that

will

allow

the

smart

device’s

user

to

31

refuse

the

smart

device’s

artificial

intelligence

access

to

32

each

type

of

private

data

the

artificial

intelligence

is

33

designed

to

access

on

the

smart

device

prior

to

the

artificial

34

intelligence

accessing

the

private

data.

35

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b.

The

requirements

of

paragraph

“a”

shall

be

separate

from

1

any

other

agreement

or

disclaimer

the

device

company

requires

2

or

is

required

to

create

for

the

smart

device,

including

but

3

not

limited

to

terms

of

service

agreements

and

end

user

license

4

agreements.

5

2.

If

a

device

company

changes

any

information

contained

in

6

the

statement

of

purpose

for

a

smart

device,

the

device

company

7

shall

do

all

of

the

following:

8

a.

Update

the

agreement

described

in

subsection

1.

9

b.

Cause

the

updated

agreement

described

in

subsection

1

to

10

appear

on

each

smart

device

affected

by

the

change

and

which

11

has

not

authorized

or

refused

access

to

private

data

based

on

12

the

change.

13

3.

If

a

device

company

causes

a

smart

device

the

device

14

company

manufactured

to

install

artificial

intelligence,

the

15

device

company

shall

not

do

any

of

the

following:

16

a.

Permit

the

artificial

intelligence

installed

on

the

smart

17

device

to

access

a

type

of

private

data

that

the

artificial

18

intelligence

was

not

authorized

to

access

in

an

agreement

19

described

in

subsection

1.

20

b.

Use

private

data

accessed

by

the

artificial

intelligence

21

in

a

manner

that

is

not

stated

in

the

smart

device’s

statement

22

of

purpose.

23

c.

If

the

artificial

intelligence

saves,

copies,

or

24

otherwise

transfers

private

data

to

a

location

outside

a

smart

25

device

from

which

the

private

data

originated,

maintain,

26

disseminate,

or

delete

the

private

data

in

a

manner

that

is

27

inconsistent

with

the

smart

device’s

statement

of

purpose.

28

4.

a.

A

device

company

shall

not

require

a

smart

device

29

user

to

install

artificial

intelligence

on

the

smart

device

as

30

a

condition

to

use

the

smart

device.

31

b.

A

device

company

shall

include

clearly

identifiable

means

32

to

allow

a

user

to

uninstall

artificial

intelligence

from

a

33

smart

device

if

the

artificial

intelligence

was

installed

on

34

the

smart

device

due

to

an

action

taken

by

the

device

company.

35

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Sec.

3.

NEW

SECTION

.

554I.3

Developer

requirements.

1

1.

a.

If

a

developer

makes

an

application

that

includes

2

artificial

intelligence,

makes

the

application

available

for

3

general

use,

and

designs

the

application

to

access

private

4

data,

the

developer

shall

cause

an

agreement

to

appear

on

5

the

initial

start

up

of

the

application

on

the

smart

device

6

to

which

the

application

was

installed.

The

agreement

shall

7

contain

all

of

the

following:

8

(1)

A

notice

to

the

application’s

user

that

the

application

9

includes

artificial

intelligence

and

the

application

is

10

designed

to

access

private

data.

11

(2)

The

application’s

statement

of

purpose.

12

(3)

An

interactive

form

that

will

provide

the

application’s

13

user

the

ability

to

refuse

the

application

access

to

each

type

14

of

private

data

the

application

is

designed

to

access

prior

to

15

the

application

accessing

the

private

data.

16

b.

The

requirements

of

paragraph

“a”

shall

be

separate

from

17

any

other

agreement

or

disclaimer

the

application’s

developer

18

requires

or

is

required

to

create

for

use

of

the

application,

19

including

but

not

limited

to

terms

of

service

agreements

and

20

end

user

license

agreements.

21

2.

If

an

application’s

developer

changes

any

information

22

contained

in

the

application’s

statement

of

purpose,

the

23

application’s

developer

shall

do

all

of

the

following:

24

a.

Update

the

agreement

described

in

subsection

1.

25

b.

Cause

the

updated

agreement

described

in

subsection

1

to

26

appear

on

each

smart

device

affected

by

the

change

which

has

27

not

authorized

or

refused

access

to

private

data

based

on

the

28

change.

29

3.

A

developer

of

an

application

that

includes

artificial

30

intelligence

shall

not

do

any

of

the

following:

31

a.

Permit

the

application

to

access

a

type

of

private

data

32

on

a

smart

device

that

the

application

was

not

authorized

to

33

access

in

an

agreement

described

in

subsection

1.

34

b.

Use

private

data

accessed

by

the

application

in

a

manner

35

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that

is

not

stated

in

the

application’s

statement

of

purpose.

1

c.

If

the

application

saves,

copies,

or

otherwise

transfers

2

private

data

to

a

location

outside

a

smart

device

from

which

3

the

private

data

originated,

maintain,

disseminate,

or

delete

4

the

private

data

in

a

manner

that

is

inconsistent

with

the

5

application’s

statement

of

purpose.

6

Sec.

4.

NEW

SECTION

.

554I.4

Rights

to

likeness.

7

On

or

after

July

1,

2025,

a

person

shall

not

use

artificial

8

intelligence

to

intentionally

recreate

the

audio

or

visual

9

likeness

of

an

individual

without

the

consent

of

the

10

individual

if

the

likeness

was

intended

to

be

substantially

11

indistinguishable

from

the

individual

and

the

likeness

is

used

12

in

any

of

the

following

ways:

13

1.

Commercial

activity.

14

2.

A

political

campaign

which

the

individual

does

not

15

support.

16

3.

A

manner

intended

to

make

other

persons

believe

that

17

the

individual

engages

in

activities

the

individual

would

18

reasonably

find

offensive.

19

4.

A

manner

intended

to

diminish

the

individual’s

20

credibility,

cause

embarrassment,

or

otherwise

lower

the

21

individual’s

esteem

within

the

individual’s

community.

22

5.

A

manner

intended

to

induce

a

person

to

take

an

action

or

23

divulge

information

the

person

otherwise

would

not.

24

Sec.

5.

NEW

SECTION

.

554I.5

Civil

liability

——

damages

——

25

additional

remedies.

26

1.

A

person

may

bring

an

action

for

actual

and

punitive

27

damages

for

a

violation

of

this

chapter,

including

reasonable

28

attorney

fees

and

costs.

Punitive

damages

shall

not

exceed

two

29

hundred

fifty

thousand

dollars

for

each

violation.

30

2.

A

class

action

may

be

brought

under

this

chapter

in

31

accordance

with

the

Iowa

rules

of

civil

procedure.

32

3.

The

court

shall

specify

the

amount

of

each

of

the

33

following

for

each

violation

of

this

chapter:

34

a.

Actual

damages.

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b.

Punitive

damages.

1

c.

Court

costs.

2

d.

Reasonable

attorney

fees.

3

4.

In

determining

the

punitive

damages

for

a

violation

of

4

this

chapter,

the

court

shall

consider

all

of

the

following:

5

a.

The

nature

and

extent

of

the

violation.

6

b.

The

severity

of

the

violation.

7

c.

The

potential

economic

effect

of

the

punitive

damages

on

8

the

person

who

violated

this

chapter.

9

d.

The

good-faith

measures

the

person

who

violated

this

10

chapter

took

to

comply

with

this

chapter.

11

e.

The

willfulness

of

the

violation.

12

f.

The

deterrent

effect

that

the

imposition

of

punitive

13

damages

will

have.

14

g.

Any

other

factors

the

court

finds

appropriate.

15

5.

a.

For

purposes

of

imposing

punitive

damages

under

16

this

chapter,

a

device

company

is

considered

to

have

committed

17

a

separate

violation

of

section

554I.2

for

each

smart

device

18

manufactured

on

or

after

July

1,

2025,

that

is

initialized

in

19

this

state.

20

b.

For

purposes

of

imposing

punitive

damages

under

this

21

chapter,

a

developer

shall

be

considered

to

have

committed

a

22

separate

violation

of

section

554I.3

for

each

smart

device

that

23

uses

the

developer’s

artificial

intelligence

or

application

on

24

or

after

July

1,

2025,

in

this

state.

25

c.

For

purposes

of

imposing

punitive

damages

under

this

26

chapter,

a

person

shall

be

considered

to

have

committed

a

27

separate

violation

of

section

554I.4

for

each

day

a

violation

28

continues.

29

6.

This

chapter

shall

not

preclude

a

person

from

bringing

a

30

civil

or

criminal

action

under

any

other

provision

of

law.

31

EXPLANATION

32

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

33

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

34

This

bill

relates

to

restrictions

on

the

use

of

artificial

35

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406

intelligence

(AI).

1

The

bill

defines

“application”

as

a

software

program

2

designed

for

an

electronic

device

to

enable

a

user

to

perform

3

a

particular

task

or

set

of

related

tasks

including

but

not

4

limited

to

checking

the

weather,

playing

games,

accessing

5

social

media,

or

managing

personal

information,

within

the

6

capabilities

of

the

electronic

device.

7

The

bill

defines

“artificial

intelligence”

as

any

8

machine-based

system

that,

for

any

explicit

or

implicit

9

objective,

infers

from

the

inputs

the

system

receives

to

10

generate

outputs,

including

content,

decisions,

predictions,

11

or

recommendations,

that

can

influence

physical

or

virtual

12

environments.

13

The

bill

defines

“developer”

as

a

person

who,

in

this

state,

14

creates

or

substantially

modifies

AI

or

an

application

(app)

15

that

uses

AI.

16

The

bill

defines

“device

company”

as

a

person

engaged

in

17

the

business

of

manufacturing

smart

devices

and

that

has

a

18

registered

office,

a

registered

agent,

or

a

business

office

19

in

this

state.

“Device

company”

includes

a

registrant

as

20

defined

in

Code

section

548.101,

that

engages

in

the

business

21

of

manufacturing

smart

devices.

22

The

bill

defines

“initialize”

as

the

process

of

starting

a

23

smart

device

and

associate

the

smart

device

with

a

new

user

24

account.

25

The

bill

defines

“private

data”

as

data

that

AI,

or

an

app

26

that

includes

AI,

accesses

on

a

smart

device,

and

that

is

not

27

content

generated

by

using

the

AI

or

the

app

on

the

smart

28

device,

or

content

to

which

the

AI’s

developer

or

the

app’s

29

developer

had

previously

received

authorization

to

access

for

30

purposes

described

in

the

smart

device’s

statement

of

purpose

31

or

the

app’s

statement

of

purpose.

32

The

bill

defines

“smart

device”

as

a

computer,

smartphone,

33

gaming

console,

tablet

computer,

or

other

electronic

device

34

capable

of

running

software

to

download,

install,

or

use

AI

and

35

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that

was

sold

in

this

state

on

or

after

July

1,

2025.

1

The

bill

defines

“statement

of

purpose”

as

a

statement

2

made

for

an

app

or

smart

device

that

explains

the

types

of

3

private

data

the

app

or

smart

device

was

designed

to

access;

4

how

the

private

data

will

be

used,

including

the

types

of

new

5

content

the

private

data

will

be

used

to

generate

and

how

the

6

new

content

will

be

used;

and

if

the

app

or

smart

device

is

7

designed

to

save,

copy,

or

otherwise

transfer

private

data

to

8

a

location

outside

the

smart

device,

an

explanation

of

how

9

and

where

private

data

will

be

maintained,

disseminated,

and

10

deleted,

as

applicable.

11

If

a

device

company

makes

a

smart

device

available

for

12

purchase

with

AI

installed

on

the

smart

device,

the

bill

13

requires

the

device

company

to

cause

an

agreement

to

appear

14

when

a

user

initializes

the

smart

device.

The

agreement

15

must

contain

a

notice

to

the

smart

device’s

user

that

the

16

smart

device

has

AI

installed

on

the

smart

device;

if

the

17

smart

device’s

AI

is

designed

to

access

the

user’s

private

18

data,

the

smart

device’s

statement

of

purpose

(SOP);

and

an

19

option

to

uninstall

the

AI.

If

the

smart

device’s

user

does

20

not

uninstall

the

AI,

the

device

company

needs

to

cause

an

21

interactive

form

to

appear

that

will

allow

the

smart

device’s

22

user

to

refuse

the

smart

device’s

AI

access

to

each

type

of

23

private

data

the

AI

is

designed

to

access

on

the

smart

device

24

prior

to

the

AI

accessing

the

private

data.

The

agreement

must

25

be

separate

from

any

other

agreement

or

disclaimer

the

device

26

company

requires

or

is

required

to

create

for

the

smart

device,

27

including

but

not

limited

to

terms

of

service

agreements

and

28

end

user

license

agreements.

29

If

a

device

company

changes

any

information

contained

in

the

30

SOP

for

a

smart

device,

the

bill

requires

the

device

company

31

to

update

the

agreement

containing

the

smart

device’s

SOP,

and

32

cause

the

updated

agreement

to

appear

on

each

smart

device

33

affected

by

the

change

and

which

has

not

authorized

or

refused

34

access

to

private

data

based

on

the

change.

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If

a

device

company

causes

AI

to

be

installed

on

a

smart

1

device

the

device

company

manufactured,

the

bill

prohibits

2

the

device

company

from

permitting

the

AI

installed

on

the

3

smart

device

to

access

a

type

of

private

data

that

the

AI

was

4

not

authorized

to

access

in

an

agreement

containing

the

smart

5

device’s

SOP;

using

private

data

accessed

by

the

AI

in

a

manner

6

that

is

not

stated

in

the

smart

device’s

SOP;

if

the

AI

saves,

7

copies,

or

otherwise

transfers

private

data

to

a

location

8

outside

a

smart

device

from

which

the

private

data

originated,

9

maintaining,

disseminating,

or

deleting

the

private

data

in

a

10

manner

that

is

inconsistent

with

the

smart

device’s

SOP.

11

The

bill

contains

provisions

for

an

app

developer

which

12

are

similar

to

the

requirements

and

prohibitions

for

a

device

13

company

if

the

app

developer

makes

an

app

that

includes

AI

14

available

for

general

use

and

the

app

is

designed

to

access

15

private

data.

16

The

bill

prohibits

a

device

company

from

requiring

a

smart

17

device

user

to

install

AI

on

the

smart

device

as

a

condition

to

18

use

the

smart

device.

19

The

bill

requires

a

device

company

to

include

clearly

20

identifiable

means

to

allow

a

user

to

uninstall

artificial

21

intelligence

from

a

smart

device

if

the

artificial

intelligence

22

was

installed

on

the

smart

device

due

to

an

action

taken

by

the

23

device

company.

24

The

bill

prohibits

a

person

from

using

AI

to

intentionally

25

recreate

the

audio

or

visual

likeness

of

an

individual

without

26

the

consent

of

the

individual

if

the

likeness

was

intended

to

27

be

substantially

indistinguishable

from

the

individual

and

the

28

likeness

is

used

in

commercial

activity;

a

political

campaign

29

which

the

individual

does

not

support;

a

manner

intended

to

30

make

other

persons

believe

that

the

individual

engages

in

31

activities

the

individual

would

reasonably

find

offensive;

32

a

manner

intended

to

diminish

the

individual’s

credibility,

33

cause

embarrassment,

or

otherwise

lower

the

individual’s

esteem

34

within

the

individual’s

community;

or

a

manner

intended

to

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induce

a

person

to

take

an

action

or

divulge

information

the

1

person

otherwise

would

not.

2

The

bill

allows

a

person

to

bring

an

action

for

actual

3

damages

and

punitive

damages

for

a

violation

of

the

bill,

plus

4

reasonable

attorney

fees

and

costs.

Punitive

damages

cannot

5

exceed

$250,000

per

violation.

6

The

bill

allows

persons

to

bring

class

actions

in

accordance

7

with

the

Iowa

rules

of

civil

procedure

for

violations

of

the

8

bill.

9

The

bill

requires

the

court

to

specify

the

amount

of

actual

10

damages,

punitive

damages,

court

costs,

and

reasonable

attorney

11

fees

for

each

violation

of

the

new

Code

chapter.

The

bill

12

lists

several

factors

a

court

must

consider

when

determining

13

the

amount

of

punitive

damages

under

the

new

Code

chapter.

14

A

device

company

is

considered

to

have

committed

a

separate

15

violation

for

each

smart

device

manufactured

on

or

after

July

16

1,

2025,

that

is

initialized

in

this

state.

A

developer

is

17

considered

to

have

committed

a

separate

violation

for

each

18

smart

device

that

uses

the

developer’s

AI

or

app

on

or

after

19

July

1,

2025,

in

this

state.

A

person

is

considered

to

have

20

committed

a

separate

violation

for

each

day

a

likeness

is

used

21

in

violation

of

the

bill.

22

The

bill

does

not

preclude

a

person

from

bringing

an

action

23

under

any

other

provision

of

law.

24

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