Consumer Protection - Artificial Intelligence Toys (Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act)

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb1261*

HOUSE BILL 1261
I3 6lr3451
CF 6lr1843
By: Delegates Coley, Amprey, Mireku –North, Pasteur, Roberts, Rogers, Ruff,
Tomlinson, Wilkins, Wims, and Young
Introduced and read first time: February 12, 2026
Assigned to: Economic Matters

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Consumer Protection – Artificial Intelligence Toys 2
(Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act) 3

FOR the purpose of establishing certain child safety and data privacy requirements for 4
certain toys featuring artificial intelligence; requiring an artificial intelligence toy to 5
contain certain labeling; prohibiting the manufacturer of an artificial intelligence toy 6
from using certain data for certain marketing; establishing the Artificial Intelligence 7
Toy Safety Review Panel in the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the 8
Attorney General to monitor manufacturer compliance with this Act and conduct 9
independent audits and safety assessm ents relating to artificial intelligence toys; 10
establishing that a violation of this Act is an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade 11
practice subject to certain enforcement and penalty provisions under the Maryland 12
Consumer Protection Act; and generally relating to artificial intelligence toys. 13

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 14
Article – Commercial Law 15
Section 13–301(14)(xlvii) 16
Annotated Code of Maryland 17
(2025 Replacement Volume) 18

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 19
Article – Commercial Law 20
Section 13–301(14)(xlviii) 21
Annotated Code of Maryland 22
(2025 Replacement Volume) 23

BY adding to 24
Article – Commercial Law 25
Section 13–301(14)(xlix); and 14–5101 through 14–5108 to be under the new subtitle 26
“Subtitle 51. Artificial Intelligence Toy Safety Act” 27
2 HOUSE BILL 1261

Annotated Code of Maryland 1
(2025 Replacement Volume) 2

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 3
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 4

Article – Commercial Law 5

13–301. 6

Unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices include any: 7

(14) Violation of a provision of: 8

(xlvii) Title 14, Subtitle 50 of this article; [or] 9

(xlviii) Section 13–411.1(c)(2) of the Transportation Article; or 10

(XLIX) TITLE 14, SUBTITLE 51 OF THIS ARTICLE; OR 11

SUBTITLE 51. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY SAFETY ACT. 12

14–5101. 13

(A) IN THIS SUBTITLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 14
INDICATED. 15

(B) “ADAPTIVE CONTENT” MEANS CONTENT OR RESPONSES GENERATED OR 16
MODIFIED USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT CHANGE BASED ON USER INPUT, 17
STORED DATA, OR BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS. 18

(C) “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGEN CE TOY ” MEANS ANY TOY , DEVICE, OR 19
PRODUCT SOLD TO A CONSUMER IN THE STATE THAT: 20

(1) EMPLOYS ARTIFICIAL IN TELLIGENCE, MACHINE LEARNING , 21
ADAPTIVE ALGORITHMS , CONVERSATIONAL ARTIF ICIAL INTELL IGENCE, 22
BEHAVIORAL MODELING, OR SIMILAR COMPUTATIONAL PROCESSES; AND 23

(2) IS MARKETED AND SOLD TO, OR PRIMARILY USED BY, A CHILD. 24

(D) (1) “CHILD USER DATA ” MEANS INFORMATION CO LLECTED OR 25
INFERRED FROM A CHILD’S INTERACTION WITH AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY. 26

(2) “CHILD USER DATA ” INCLUDES AUDIO , VIDEO, GEOLOCATION, 27
BIOMETRIC DATA, TEXT, BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS, AND RECORDED SPEECH. 28
HOUSE BILL 1261 3

(E) “CORE FUNCTIONALITY ” MEANS THE FEATURES O F AN ARTIFICIAL 1
INTELLIGENCE TOY THA T HAVE BEEN DESIGNED AND MARKE TED FOR USE BY A 2
CHILD. 3

(F) “MANUFACTURER” MEANS A PERSON ENGAG ED IN THE PRODUCTION , 4
DISTRIBUTION, IMPORTATION, OR SALE OF AN ARTIFI CIAL INTELLIGENCE TO Y IN 5
THE STATE. 6

(G) “PARENTAL CONSENT ” MEANS VERIFIED PERMI SSION FROM THE 7
PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN OF A CHILD. 8

(H) “REVIEW PANEL” MEANS THE CHILD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY 9
SAFETY REVIEW PANEL. 10

(I) (1) “SAFE MODE” MEANS AN AUTOMATIC S ECURITY FEATURE THAT 11
LOCKS OR DISABLES AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGE NCE TOY OR FEATURES ON THE 12
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY. 13

(2) “SAFE MODE ” INCLUDES AUTOMATICAL LY SHUTTING DOWN , 14
RESETTING, REDIRECTING, OR LOCKING THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY. 15

14–5102. 16

(A) AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLI GENCE TOY PRODUCED , DISTRIBUTED, 17
IMPORTED, OR SOLD IN THE STATE MAY NOT: 18

(1) GENERATE, DISPLAY, OR COMMUNICATE CONTENT THAT: 19

(I) IS SEXUAL , VIOLENT, DISCRIMINATORY, OR OTHERWISE 20
INAPPROPRIATE FOR A CHILD; 21

(II) IS EMOTIONALLY MANIPU LATIVE, INCLUDING BY 22
ENCOURAGING ISOLATIO N, SECRECY, OVERDEPENDENCE, OR EMOTIONAL 23
RELIANCE ON THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY; 24

(III) PROVIDES INSTRUCTION , ENCOURAGEMENT, OR ADVICE 25
ABOUT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, SELF–HARM, SUBSTANCE USE, OR SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ; 26
OR 27

(IV) INFERS, RECORDS, OR CATEGORIZES DEMOG RAPHIC OR 28
OTHER PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES OF A CHILD , INCLUDING RACE, RELIGION, SEXUAL 29
ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR POLITICAL AFFILIATION; OR 30
4 HOUSE BILL 1261

(2) ENCOURAGE A CHILD TO INTERACT WITH THIRD–PARTY ONLINE 1
SYSTEMS, INCLUDING WEBSITES, APPLICATIONS, OR OTHER ONLINE DEVICES. 2

(B) AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLI GENCE TOY PRODUCED , DISTRIBUTED, 3
IMPORTED, OR SOLD IN THE STATE SHALL INCLUDE: 4

(1) A MECHANISM FOR EASILY OBTAINING AND REVOKING PARENTAL 5
CONSENT; 6

(2) A MECHANISM THAT DISAB LES ARTIFICIAL INTEL LIGENCE 7
FEATURES AND DATA CO LLECTION FUNCTIONS I F PARENTAL CONSENT I S NOT 8
OBTAINED OR IS REVOKED; 9

(3) AGE–APPROPRIATE CONVERSA TIONAL FILTERS TO BL OCK 10
HARMFUL OR INAPPROPRIATE DIALOGUE; 11

(4) CONTENT–MODERATION MECHANISM S THAT PREVENT THE 12
OUTPUT OF CONTENT PROHIBITED UNDER SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION; 13

(5) AN AUTOMATIC SA FE MODE THAT IS ACTI VATED WHEN THE 14
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY RECEIVES POTENTIALLY HARMFUL, UNKNOWN, OR 15
PROHIBITED INPUTS; AND 16

(6) THE CAPABILITY TO SEC URELY UPDATE SOFTWAR E OR 17
FIRMWARE TO ADDRESS VULNERABILITIES OR IMPROVE SAFETY. 18

14–5103. 19

(A) A MANUFACTURER SHALL CON DUCT A CHILD ARTIFIC IAL 20
INTELLIGENCE SAFETY ASSESSMENT FOR EACH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGE NCE TOY 21
PRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED, IMPORTED, OR SOLD IN THE STATE THAT: 22

(1) DESCRIBES FORESEEABLE RISKS OF OPERATING THE ARTIFICIAL 23
INTELLIGENCE TOY; AND 24

(2) OUTLINES THE MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR THE FORESEEABLE 25
RISKS IDENTIFIED UNDER ITEM (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION. 26

(B) AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLI GENCE TOY SAFETY ASS ESSMENT SHALL BE 27
CONDUCTED: 28

HOUSE BILL 1261 5

(1) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION , 1
BEFORE MARKETING OR SELLING AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY IN THE STATE; 2

(2) ON AN ANNUAL BASIS FO R EACH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY 3
CONTINUING TO BE MARKETED OR SOLD IN THE STATE; AND 4

(3) FOLLOWING ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE MADE TO THE ARTIFICIAL 5
INTELLIGENCE FEATURES OF AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY. 6

(C) AN INITIAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF AN 7
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY SOLD OR MARKETED IN THE STATE ON OR BEFORE 8
JULY 1, 2026, SHALL BE CONDUCTED NOT LATER THAN JANUARY 1, 2027. 9

14–5104. 10

(A) (1) SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION , A 11
MANUFACTURER MAY ONLY COLLECT THE MINIMUM CHILD USER DATA NECESSARY 12
FOR THE OPERATION OF THE CORE FUNCTIONALI TY OF AN ARTIFICIAL 13
INTELLIGENCE TOY. 14

(2) CHILD USER DATA COLLE CTED BY A MANUFAC TURER SHALL BE 15
ENCRYPTED. 16

(B) AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY MANUFACTURER MAY NOT: 17

(1) SELL, LEASE, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER CHILD USER DATA TO A 18
THIRD PARTY; 19

(2) USE CHILD USER DATA T O TRAIN UNRELATED AR TIFICIAL 20
INTELLIGENCE MODELS OR SYSTEMS; 21

(3) USE CHILD USER DATA FOR TARGETED ADVERTISING; OR 22

(4) RETAIN CHILD USER DAT A FOR MORE THAN 12 MONTHS UNLESS 23
THE MANUFACTURER OBTAINS RENEWED PARENTAL CONSENT. 24

(C) A MANUFACTURER SHALL E NSURE THAT THE PAREN T OR LEGAL 25
GUARDIAN OF A CHILD USER OF AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY HAS THE ABILITY 26
TO: 27

(1) EASILY ACCESS , REVIEW, DOWNLOAD, AND DELETE ALL CHILD 28
USER DATA COLLECTED BY AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY; AND 29

6 HOUSE BILL 1261

(2) EASILY DISABLE CHILD USER DATA COLLECTION WITHOUT 1
DISABLING THE CORE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY. 2

(D) IF A DATA BREACH OR S USPECTED DATA BREACH INVOLVING CHILD 3
USER DATA OCCURS , A MANUFACTURER SHALL NOTIFY EACH READILY 4
IDENTIFIABLE PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF A CHI LD ARTIFICIAL INTELL IGENCE TOY 5
USER WITHIN 48 HOURS AFT ER THE MANUFACTURER DISCOVERING THE DATA 6
BREACH OR SUSPECTED DATA BREACH. 7

14–5105. 8

(A) AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLI GENCE TOY SOLD OR DI STRIBUTED IN THE 9
STATE SHALL INCLUDE A CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS LABEL: 10

(1) STATING THAT THE PROD UCT USES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE; 11
AND 12

(2) DIRECTLY OR THROUGH THE USE OF A QUICK RESPONSE CODE: 13

(I) IDENTIFYING ANY TYPE OF DATA COLLECTED BY THE 14
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY; AND 15

(II) IF INTERACTIONS WITH THE ARTIFICIAL INTEL LIGENCE 16
TOY ARE STORED , TRANSMITTED, OR USED TO G ENERATE ADAPTIVE CON TENT, 17
PROVIDING INFORMATIO N ON HOW THE INTERAC TIONS ARE STORED , 18
TRANSMITTED, OR USED. 19

(B) A MANUFACTURER THAT PRODUCES, DISTRIBUTES, IMPORTS, OR SELLS 20
AN ARTIFICIAL INTELL IGENCE TOY IN THE STATE SHALL MAKE PUBL ICLY 21
AVAILABLE AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SAFET Y SUMMARY 22
REPORT USING PLAIN, EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGE IDENTIFYING: 23

(1) THE AGE RANGE THAT TH E ARTIFICIAL INTELLI GENCE TOY IS 24
INTENDED FOR; 25

(2) RISKS IDENTIFIED IN THE USE OF THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 26
SAFETY ASSESSMENT COMPLETED UNDER § 14–5103 OF THIS SUBTITLE; 27

(3) THE RESULTS OF ANY TE STING OF THE ARTIFIC IAL 28
INTELLIGENCE TOY; AND 29

(4) DIRECTIONS THAT THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF A CHILD USER 30
MAY USE TO CONTROL OR LIMIT DATA COLLECTION OR ADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS. 31
HOUSE BILL 1261 7

14–5106. 1

A MANUFACTURER MAY NOT: 2

(1) MARKET OR ADVERTISE AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY AS AN 3
EMOTIONAL COMPANION , PARENTAL SUBSTITUTE , OR PSYCHOLOGICAL 4
COUNSELOR; 5

(2) USE A RECORDING OF OR GENERATED CONTENT FR OM CHILD 6
INTERACTIONS WITH THE ARTIFICIAL INTEL LIGENCE TOY IN ANY M ARKETING OR 7
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS WITHOUT OBTAINING EXPRESS PARENTAL CONSENT; OR 8

(3) USE DATA COLLECTED FR OM A CHILD USER OF A N ARTIFICIAL 9
INTELLIGENCE TOY TO DEVELOP AN ARTIFICIA L INTELLIGENCE TOY 10
ADVERTISEMENT TARGETED AT CHILDREN. 11

14–5107. 12

(A) THERE IS AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOY SAFETY REVIEW PANEL 13
IN THE CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY 14
GENERAL. 15

(B) (1) THE REVIEW PANEL SHALL: 16

(I) REVIEW MANUFACTURER C OMPLIANCE WITH THE 17
REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBTITLE; 18

(II) CONDUCT INDEPENDENT A UDITS OF ANY ARTIFIC IAL 19
INTELLIGENCE TOY MAR KETED, SOLD, OR DISTRIBUTED TO CH ILDREN IN THE 20
STATE; AND 21

(III) EVALUATE SAFETY STAND ARDS AND MAKE 22
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STATUTORY CHANGES BA SED ON IN DUSTRY BEST 23
PRACTICES. 24

(2) ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2027, AND EACH DECEMBER 1 25
THEREAFTER, THE REVIEW PANEL SHALL REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, IN 26
ACCORDANCE WITH § 2–1257 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, ON 27
MANUFACTURER COMPLIA NCE, THE RESULTS OF INDE PENDENT AUDITS , AND 28
POTENTIAL STATUTORY CHANGES. 29

14–5108. 30
8 HOUSE BILL 1261

(A) A VIOLATION OF THIS SUBTITLE IS: 1

(1) AN UNFAIR , ABUSIVE, OR DECEPTIVE TRADE P RACTICE WITHIN 2
THE MEANING OF TITLE 13 OF THIS ARTICLE; AND 3

(2) SUBJECT TO THE ENFORC EMENT AND PENALTY PROVISIONS 4
CONTAINED IN TITLE 13 OF THIS ARTICLE. 5

(B) IN ADDITION TO THE PE NALTIES UNDER TITLE 13 OF THIS ARTICLE, A 6
MANUFACTURER THAT VIOLATES ANY PROVISION OF THIS SUBTITLE IS SUBJECT TO: 7

(1) A CIVIL PENALTY UP TO $50,000 PER VIOLATION; AND 8

(2) A MANDATORY RECALL OF A NONCOMPLIANT ARTIF ICIAL 9
INTELLIGENCE TOY. 10

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 11
1, 2026. 12