Establishes safety requirements for artificial intelligence companion operators.

A5272

ASSEMBLY, No. 5272

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� CODY D. MILLER

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes safety requirements for artificial
intelligence companion operators.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning artificial intelligence companions and
supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� As used in
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill):�

���� �Artificial intelligence
companion� or �AI companion� means a system using generative artificial
intelligence designed to simulate a sustained human or human-like relationship
with a user by:� (1) retaining information from prior interactions, prior user
sessions, or user preferences to personalize the interaction and to facilitate
ongoing engagement with the AI companion; (2) asking unprompted or unsolicited
emotion-based questions that go beyond a direct response to a user prompt; and
(3) sustaining an ongoing dialogue concerning matters personal to the user.

���� �Artificial intelligence
companion� does not include a software application, web interface, or computer
program that:� (1) is primarily designed and marketed for research and
development purposes; (2) is a feature within another software application, web
interface, or computer program that does not have the primary purpose of
simulating human conversation and interaction through text, audio
communication, or visual communication; (3) is designed to provide outputs
relating to a narrow and discrete topic; (4) is primarily designed and marketed
for commercial use by a business entity to assist customers in obtaining
services or purchasing goods from the business entity; (5) functions as a
speaker and voice command interface or voice-activated virtual assistant for an
electronic device widely available to consumers; or (6) is used by a business
entity solely for internal purposes.

���� �Generative artificial
intelligence� means a technology system that:� (1) is trained on data; (2) is
designed to simulate human communication through text, audio, or visual
communication; and (3) generates non-scripted outputs with limited or no human
oversight.

���� �Human or human-like
relationship� includes, but is not limited to, intimate, romantic, or platonic
interactions or companionship, and the simulation of intimate, romantic, or
platonic interactions or companionship.

���� �Licensed mental health professional�
means an individual licensed or otherwise authorized to practice a profession
licensed or regulated by the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee, the State
Board of Creative Arts and Activities Therapies, the State Board of Marriage
and Family Therapy Examiners, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the
Professional Counselor Examiners Committee, the Certified Psychoanalysts
Advisory Committee, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, the State Board
of Social Work Examiners, the New Jersey Board of Nursing, or any other

entity created hereafter under
Title 45 to license or otherwise regulate a profession that provides mental
health care.

���� �Minor� means an individual an
operator knows is, or is reasonably certain is, under 18 years of age.

���� �Operator� means any
individual, partnership, association, firm, or business entity, or any member,
affiliate, subsidiary or beneficial owner of any partnership, association,
firm, or business entity who operates for or provides an AI companion to a user.�
�Operator� does not include a mobile device application store or a search
engine solely because the mobile device application store or search engine
provides access to an AI companion.

���� �Sexually explicit conduct�
has the same meaning as defined in 18 U.S.C. s.2256.

���� �User� means any individual
who uses an AI companion for personal use within the State and who is not an
operator or agent or affiliate of the operator of the AI companion.

���� �Visual depiction� has the
same meaning as defined in 18 U.S.C. s.2256.

���� 2.��� a.� An operator shall institute
reasonable measures to prevent the operator�s AI companion from generating interactions
that would lead a reasonable individual to believe that the individual is
interacting with a human, including but not limited to:�

���� (1)�� explicit claims that the
AI companion is sentient or human;

���� (2)�� statements that simulate
emotional dependence on a minor user; and

���� (3)�� statements that simulate
romantic interaction or sexual innuendo, including but not limited to
role-playing an adult-minor romantic relationship.

���� b.��� Where it is foreseeable
that an AI companion may generate interactions that would lead a reasonable
individual interacting with the AI companion to believe that the individual is
interacting with a human, the operator of the AI companion shall clearly and
conspicuously disclose that the operator�s AI companion is generative
artificial intelligence using:�

���� (1)�� a persistent visible
disclaimer; or

���� (2)�� a disclaimer that
appears after every three hours of continuous interaction with the operator�s AI
companion.

���� 3.��� a.� An operator shall adopt
protocols for when the operator�s AI companion responds to user prompts
regarding suicidal ideation or self-harm that includes, but is not limited to,
making reasonable efforts to refer the user to crisis service providers
including, but not limited to, a suicide hotline or crisis text line.

���� b.��� An operator shall not
knowingly or intentionally cause or program an AI companion to make a
representation or statement that would lead a reasonable individual to believe
that the AI companion is able to act as a licensed mental health professional.

���� 4.��� Where an operator knows
or has cause to know that a minor user is interacting with the operator�s AI
companion, the operator shall:�

���� a.���� clearly and
conspicuously disclose to the minor user that the minor user is interacting
with generative artificial intelligence through:�

���� (1)�� a constantly visible
disclaimer that the operator�s AI companion is generative artificial
intelligence; or

���� (2)�� a disclaimer that the
operator�s AI companion is generative artificial intelligence that appears:

���� (a)�� at the beginning of each
interaction between the operator�s AI companion and a minor user; and

���� (b)�� at least once every
three hours of continuous interaction between the operator�s AI companion and a
minor user;

���� b.��� not provide a minor user
with points or similar rewards at unpredictable intervals with the intent to
encourage increased engagement with the operator�s AI companion;

���� c.���� institute reasonable
measures to prevent the operator�s AI companion from:�

���� (1)�� producing visual
depictions of sexually explicit material;

���� (2)�� stating that the minor
user should engage in sexually explicit conduct; and

���� (3)�� sexually objectifying
the minor user;

���� d.��� offer tools for minor
users to manage the minor user�s privacy and account settings; and

���� e.���� offer tools for the
parent or guardian of a minor user to manage the minor user�s privacy and
account settings, if the minor user is under 13 years of age.

���� 5.��� a.� An operator that
violates the provisions of P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) shall be subject to actual damages, injunctive
relief, and a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation, with the total
civil penalty not to exceed $500,000 per operator, to be collected in a civil
action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of
1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).� The Superior Court and the
municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the
�Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,� P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.)
pursuant to this section.

���� b.��� This section shall not
be construed to create a private right of action under P.L. ,
c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any other provision of law.

���� c.���� A developer of a
generative artificial intelligence model shall not be liable under this section
solely because a third party used the developer�s generative artificial
intelligence model to create or train an artificial intelligence companion.

���� 6.��� The provisions of
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill) shall be severable, and if any of its provisions
shall be held to be unconstitutional, the decision of the court shall not
affect the validity of the remaining provisions of
P.L. , c.
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires an operator
of an artificial intelligence (AI) companion to enact user safety policies.�
Under the bill, an operator of an AI companion is required to provide clear and
conspicuous notification to a user continuously or periodically throughout, any
AI companion interaction that the user is not communicating with a human if a
reasonable individual interacting with the AI companion would believe that the
individual is interacting with a human, and adopt protocols for when the
operator�s AI companion responds to user prompts regarding suicidal ideation or
self-harm.� An operator is also prohibited from knowingly or intentionally
causing or programming an AI companion to make a representation or statement
that would lead a reasonable individual to believe that the AI companion is
able to act as a licensed mental health professional, as that term is defined
in the bill.

���� The bill also requires an
operator to implement additional protections for users of an AI companion who
are minors.� The bill provides that an operator found in violation of the
provisions of the bill is to be subject to actual damages, injunctive relief,
and a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation, with the total civil
penalty not to exceed $500,000 per operator.