Bill Text: NJ A5090 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "GAI Accountability Act;" imposes civil penalties on generative artificial intelligence platforms engaging in harmful activity, including exploitation of children.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee [A5090 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5090-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ANDREW MACURDY
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
"GAI Accountability Act;" imposes civil penalties on generative artificial intelligence platforms engaging in harmful activity, including exploitation of children.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning regulation of generative artificial intelligence platforms, and supplementing Title 56 of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Artificial intelligence" or "AI" means any technology involving the development or implementation of machine-based systems that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that may influence physical or virtual environments.
"Generative artificial intelligence" or "GAI" means a technology system that is trained on data and can generate derived synthetic content, including text, images, video, and audio, that emulates the structure and characteristics of the system's training data.
"Generative artificial intelligence platform" or "GAI platform" means a publicly accessible computer program or application, database, or Internet website that allows a person to use GAI technology.
b. Any owner, operator, or developer of a GAI platform that does business in, is based in, or operates from this State, or that makes its GAI platform accessible to residents in this State, shall be civilly liable pursuant to this section if the owner, operator, or developer fails to prevent the GAI platform from:
(1) engaging in conduct which, if it had been committed by a human, would constitute crimes under N.J.S.2C:11-3, murder; N.J.S.2C:12-1, assault; N.J.S.2C:20-4, theft by deception; N.J.S.2C:20-5, theft by extortion; subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:24-4, endangering the welfare of children; or subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:24-4, creation of child sexual abuse or exploitation material; or
(2) providing information that facilitates a user's commission of a crime enumerated in paragraph (1) of this subsection, where the providing of such information, if it had been done by a human, would constitute aiding or abetting a crime pursuant to N.J.S.2C:2-6, unless that information is publicly accessible in a substantially similar form from a source other than a GAI platform.
c. It shall be an affirmative defense in an enforcement action pursuant to subsection d. of this section that the owner, operator, or developer of a GAI platform used reasonable efforts to prevent a violation of subsection b. of this section.
d. Any owner, operator, or developer of a GAI platform who is found, by a preponderance of the evidence for each element of the cause of action, to have violated subsection b. of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $20,000 for each violation. An action to enforce this section shall be brought by the Attorney General.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill, known as the "GAI Accountability Act," imposes civil liability on the owners, operators, and developers of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) platforms that facilitate certain harms against children.
Under the bill, the owner, operator, or developer of any GAI platform that does business in, is based in, or operates from this State, or that is otherwise accessible to the residents of this State, is liable for a civil penalty of $20,000 per violation they fail to prevent the GAI platform from:
(1) engaging in conduct which, if it had been committed by a human, would constitute the crime of murder, assault, theft by extortion, theft by deception, creation of child sexual abuse or exploitation material, or endangering the welfare of children; or
(2) providing information that facilitates a user's commission of a crime enumerated above, where the providing of such information, if it had been done by a human, would constitute aiding or abetting a crime, unless that information is publicly accessible in a substantially similar form from a source other than a GAI platform.
The bill provides an affirmative defense if the owner, operator, or developer used reasonable efforts to prevent the GAI platform from violating the provisions of the bill. The bill provides for enforcement by the Attorney General.
