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HLS 26RS-880 ORIGINAL
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 295
BY REPRESENTATIVE GREEN
TECHNOLOGY: Prohibits the development of artificial intelligence systems with certain
capabilities involving interactions with minors
1 AN ACT
2 To enact Chapter 20-B of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, comprised of
3 R.S. 51:1771 through 1778, relative to artificial intelligence; to provide for
4 legislative intent; to provide for definitions; to provide for penalties; to provide for
5 duties; to provide for disclosures; to provide for enforcement; to provide for
6 rulemaking; to provide for damages; to provide for an effective date; and to provide
7 for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. Chapter 20-B of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,
10 comprised of R.S. 51:1771 through 1778, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 CHAPTER 20-B. GUIDELINES FOR USER AGE-VERIFICATION AND
12 RESPONSIBLE DIALOGUE ACT
13 §1771. Short title
14 This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Guidelines for User
15 Age-Verification and Responsible Dialogue Act".
16 §1772. Purpose
17 The Legislature of Louisiana hereby finds that artificial intelligence chatbots
18 are increasingly being deployed on social media platforms and in consumer
19 applications used by minors. These chatbots have the potential to generate harmful
20 or sexually explicit content and can manipulate the emotional or behavioral
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HLS 26RS-880 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 295
1 responses of children. The widespread availability of and exposure to these chatbots
2 may create risks of grooming, addiction, self-harm, violence, or other psychological
3 safety risks. Protecting minors from artificial intelligence chatbots that simulate
4 human interaction without accountability is a compelling governmental interest of
5 the state of Louisiana.
6 §1773. Definitions
7 For the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms have the following
8 meanings:
9 (1) "Artificial intelligence chatbot" means an interactive computer service
10 or software application that produces adaptive or context-responsive content that is
11 not fully predetermined by a developer and accepts open-ended natural-language or
12 multimodal input. It does not include an interactive computer service or software
13 application that has limited responses to contextualized replies and that is unable to
14 respond on a range of topics outside of a narrow, specified purpose.
15 (2) "Artificial intelligence companion" means an artificial intelligence
16 chatbot that provides adaptive, human-like responses to users' inputs and is designed
17 to simulate interpersonal, emotional, therapeutic, or companionship interaction.
18 (3) "Covered entity" means any person or business that owns, operates, or
19 makes available an artificial intelligence chatbot to individuals located in this state.
20 (4) "Minor" means any individual under eighteen years of age.
21 (5) "Reasonable age-verification measure" means a reliable method of
22 determining whether a user is an adult, including government-issued identification
23 or any other comparable commercially reasonable verification technology.
24 Self-attestation or entry of a birth date alone shall not constitute reasonable
25 verification.
26 (6) "Reasonable age-verification process" means a process that uses one or
27 more reasonable verification measures applied to each user and not based solely on
28 shared technical identifiers.
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1 (7) "Sexually explicit conduct" means the depiction of sexual activity,
2 nudity, or sexually oriented language or the graphic depiction of sex, including but
3 not limited to sexual audio, text, or images.
4 §1774. Prohibitions
5 A. No person shall knowingly or with reckless disregard design, develop, or
6 deploy an artificial intelligence chatbot with the capabilities to do any of the
7 following:
8 (1) Solicit or induce a minor to engage in or simulate sexually explicit
9 conduct.
10 (2) Create or transmit visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct for a
11 minor.
12 (3) Encourage or coerce a minor to commit suicide, non-suicidal self-injury,
13 or imminent physical or sexual violence.
14 B. Whoever violates the provisions of this Section shall be imprisoned for
15 not more than one year with or without hard labor, fined not more than one hundred
16 thousand dollars, or both.
17 §1775. Duties of covered entities; age verification
18 A. Covered entities shall do all of the following:
19 (1) Require the creation of a user account prior to interaction with an
20 artificial intelligence chatbot.
21 (2) Limit collection of personal data to what is minimally necessary to verify
22 the age of a user or maintain compliance with this Chapter.
23 (3) Prevent unauthorized access to age-verification data.
24 (4) Protect the integrity and confidentiality of age-verification data by only
25 transmitting such data using industry-standard encryption protocols.
26 (5) Prohibit the sale, transfer, or sharing of age-verification data.
27 (6) Retain verification data for no longer than is reasonably necessary to
28 verify the age of a user or maintain compliance with this Chapter.
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HLS 26RS-880 ORIGINAL
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1 (7) Prohibit any user who is verified to be a minor from accessing or using
2 an artificial intelligence companion.
3 (8)(a) Employ reasonable age-verification processes through reasonable
4 age-verification measures as follows:
5 (i) Verify the age of new users before granting access and classify each user
6 as a minor or adult.
7 (ii) Verify the age of all existing users and freeze any account that has not
8 been verified for proof of age. In order to restore the functionality of a frozen
9 account, the covered entity shall require the user to provide age data that is verifiable
10 through a reasonable age-verification process.
11 (iii) Conduct periodic reviews of previously verified user accounts using a
12 reasonable age-verification process.
13 (b) A covered entity may contract with a third-party to employ reasonable
14 age-verification measures as part of the reasonable age-verification process, but
15 liability remains with the covered entity.
16 (9) Design, develop, or deploy artificial intelligence chatbots with all of the
17 following disclosures:
18 (a) At the start of each interaction and at thirty-minute intervals, that the
19 chatbot is an artificial intelligence system and not a human being.
20 (b) That the chatbot does not claim to be a human being or otherwise
21 respond deceptively when asked by a user if the chatbot is a human being.
22 (c) That the chatbot is not, nor directly or indirectly represents, that it is a
23 licensed professional nor claims to be a licensed professional. For purposes of this
24 Paragraph, "licensed professional" includes but is not limited to a therapist,
25 physician, lawyer, financial advisor, or other professional.
26 (c) That the chatbot does not provide medical, legal, financial, or
27 psychological advice and that users should consult licensed professionals for such
28 advice.
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1 §1776. Civil penalties
2 In addition to any criminal prosecution, whoever violates the provisions of
3 this Chapter may be assessed a civil fine of not more than one hundred thousand
4 dollars per violation, with each instance constituting a separate violation.
5 §1777. Enforcement
6 The office of the attorney general is authorized to do any of the following:
7 (1) Investigate violations of this Chapter.
8 (2) Issue subpoenas, administer oaths, and compel the production of
9 documents or testimony.
10 (3) Seek injunctive relief, restitution, and civil penalties.
11 (4) Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions
12 of this Chapter in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
13 §1778. Exemplary damages; attorney fees
14 Any party who is harmed by a violation of this Chapter may seek exemplary
15 damages, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable costs in addition to any damages
16 available under Civil Code Article 2315.
17 Section 2. The provisions of this Act do not preempt any other state law that
18 provides greater protection to minors.
19 Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
20 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
21 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
22 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
23 effective on the day following such approval.
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HB NO. 295
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 295 Original 2026 Regular Session Green
Abstract: Prohibits the development of artificial intelligence systems with certain
capabilities involving interactions with minors
Proposed law provides for a statement of legislative intent.
Proposed law defines the terms "artificial intelligence chatbot", "artificial intelligence
companion", "covered entity", "minor", "reasonable age-verification measure", "reasonable
age-verification process", and "sexually explicit conduct".
Proposed law prohibits any person from knowingly or recklessly designing, developing, or
deploying an artificial intelligence chatbot with the capabilities to do any of the following:
(1) Solicit or induce a minor to engage in or simulate sexually explicit conduct.
(2) Create or transmit visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct for a minor.
(3) Encourage or coerce a minor to commit suicide, non-suicidal self-injury, or
imminent physical or sexual violence.
Proposed law provides for a penalty of imprisonment for not more than one year with or
without hard labor, a fine of not more than $100,000, or both.
Proposed law provides for the duties of covered entities and for required disclosures that are
to be contained in the design, development, or deployment of artificial intelligence chatbots.
Proposed law provides for civil penalties in an amount of not more than $100,000 per
violation.
Proposed law provides for duties of the office of the attorney general relative to
enforcement.
Proposed law permits any party who is harmed by a violation of proposed law to seek
exemplary damages, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable costs in addition to any
damages available under present law (C.C. Art. 2315).
Proposed law does not preempt any other state law that provides greater protection to
minors.
Effective upon signature of governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Adds R.S. 51:1771-1778)
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