IdahoIdaho law requires safety rules for public AI chat services
Starting July 1, 2027, Idaho law requires covered public AI chat services to give users safety notices and crisis referrals, with added rules for minors.
What it does
Operators must disclose AI use when people could mistake a service for a human and adopt a plan to refer users who raise suicidal thoughts to crisis services.
Operators must give minors AI notices, take reasonable steps to prevent specified sexual or human-like responses, and offer account controls to minors and, as appropriate, their parents.
The attorney general may seek court orders and penalties from operators that break these rules; the law also limits private lawsuits and excludes certain AI model developers from liability.
Argument forAI notices and referrals to crisis services could help users recognize when they are chatting with software and find support during a suicidal crisis.
Argument againstOperators could limit some service features to reduce the risk of penalties, which might leave users with fewer ways to interact with these services.
More detail
Operators must disclose that a service uses AI when people could mistake it for a human, and adopt a plan for responding to prompts about suicidal thoughts. These duties apply to operators of public conversational AI services covered by the law's definitions. The law excludes several types of tools, including business-only services, narrow-topic tools, and some game chatbots. The AI notice is required when reasonable people could be misled into thinking they are interacting with a human. The response plan must make reasonable efforts to refer users to a suicide hotline, crisis text line, or other appropriate crisis service. These duties take effect July 1, 2027.
Operators must give minor account holders AI notices, use reasonable measures to prevent specified sexual and human-like responses, and offer privacy and account controls. A minor is someone under 18 when the operator knows or has reasonable certainty that the person is under 18. The notice may stay visible throughout use, or appear at the start of each session and at least every three hours during continuous use. Operators must not knowingly give minors unpredictable rewards intended to increase their use of the service. Parents or guardians of children under 13 must have privacy and account tools; tools for parents or guardians of older minors depend on relevant risks. These duties take effect July 1, 2027.
The attorney general may seek an injunction and civil penalties against operators that violate the law. The attorney general seeks civil penalties from operators that violate the law. The penalty is $1,000 per violation, capped at $500,000 per operator, or actual damages, whichever is greater. The law does not create a private right to sue to enforce these rules or support a private lawsuit under another law. It also excludes an AI model developer from liability for a violation by a third-party operator. These provisions take effect July 1, 2027.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed 1st Chamber
- Passed 2nd Chamber
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Apr 1Signed by Governor Brad Little on 03/31/26 Session Law Chapter 249 Effective: 07/01/2027Became Law
- Mar 30Reported delivered to Governor at 2 p.m. on 03/30/26To Governor
- Mar 30Reported signed by the Speaker & ordered delivered to GovernorMinor
- Mar 30Received from Senate; Signed by Speaker; Returned to SenateMajor
- Mar 30Reported enrolled; signed by President; to House for signature of SpeakerMajor
- Mar 27Returned From House Passed; referred to enrollingMinor
- Mar 26Rules Suspended: Ayes 65 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 5, read in full as required – PASSED - 54-12-4AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson, Galaviz, Gannon, Green, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Manwaring, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Price, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Rubel, Sauter, Shepherd, Shirts, Tanner(14), Veile, Weber, Wheeler, Mr. SpeakerNAYS – Cayler, Furniss, Garner, Hawkins, Hostetler, Leavitt, Marmon, Rasor, Scott, Tanner(13), Thompson, WisniewskiAbsent – Fuhriman, Haws, Skaug, Vander WoudeFloor Sponsor - Crane(12)Title apvd - to SenatePassed 2nd Chamber
- Vote recorded Rules Suspended: Ayes 65 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 5, read in full as required –. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 26Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation, Filed for Second ReadingMinor
- Mar 20Read First Time, Referred to BusinessMinor
- Mar 20Received from the Senate, Filed for First Reading
- Mar 19Rules Suspended (2/3 Vote - Read in full as required) – Read third time in full as amended – PASSED - 21-12-2AYES – Anthon, Bernt, Burtenshaw, Carlson, Cook, Den Hartog, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Lakey, Lent, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, WoodwardNAYS – Bjerke(Bjerke), Blaylock, Foreman, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lenney, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Semmelroth, Zito, ZuiderveldAbsent and excused – Adams, GallowayFloor Sponsor - ToewsTitle apvd - to HousePassed 1st Chamber
- Vote recorded Rules Suspended (2/3 Vote Read in full as required) – Read third time in full as amended –. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 19Read second time as amended, filed for Third readingMinor
- Mar 18Read first time as amended, filed for Second Reading
- Mar 18Reported engrossed, filed for first reading, as amended
- Mar 18Amendments reported printed
- Mar 17Amendments ordered printed; referred for engrossment
- Mar 17Reported out without recommendation, as amended
- Mar 17Placed in the Committee of the Whole
- Feb 25Referred to 14th Order for amendment
- Feb 23Read second time; filed for Third ReadingMinor
- Feb 20Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second readingMinor
- Feb 16Reported Printed; referred to State Affairs
- Feb 13Introduced; read first time; referred to JR for PrintingIntroduced
AI & PrivacyMental Health