Bill Text: NY S09381 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Imposes liability for misleading, incorrect, contradictory or harmful information to a user by a chatbot that results in financial loss or other demonstrable harm.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-14 - REFERRED TO INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY [S09381 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09381-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9381

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 14, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Internet and Technology

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to  liability  for
          false information provided by a chatbot

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  390-f to read as follows:
     3    § 390-f. Liability for chatbot responses. 1. As used in  this  section
     4  the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a)  "Chatbot"  shall mean an artificial intelligence system, software
     6  program, or technological application that simulates human-like  conver-
     7  sation  and  interaction  through  text  messages,  voice commands, or a
     8  combination thereof to provide information and services to users.
     9    (b) "Proprietor" refers to any person,  business,  company,  organiza-
    10  tion,  institution  or government entity operating with more than twenty
    11  employees that owns, operates or deploys a chatbot system used to inter-
    12  act with users. Proprietors shall  not  include  third-party  developers
    13  that license their chatbot technology to a proprietor.
    14    2.  (a)  A  proprietor  of a chatbot used as an alternative to a human
    15  representative, or otherwise as an agent of the  proprietor  to  provide
    16  any  substantive  response,  information, advice, or action on behalf of
    17  the proprietor may not disclaim liability of any kind  where  a  chatbot
    18  provides  materially  misleading,  incorrect,  contradictory  or harmful
    19  information to a user that results in financial loss or other demonstra-
    20  ble harm to the user; provided, however, that no such liability shall be
    21  imposed where the proprietor has corrected the information and  substan-
    22  tially  or  completely  cured the harm to the user within thirty days of
    23  notice of such harm.
    24    (b) The proprietor of a chatbot shall be responsible for ensuring such
    25  chatbot accurately provides information aligned with  the  formal  poli-
    26  cies,  product  details,  disclosures  and  terms  of service offered to
    27  users.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15593-01-4
        S. 9381                             2

     1    (c) A proprietor may not waive or disclaim this  liability  merely  by
     2  notifying  consumers  that they are interacting with a non-human chatbot
     3  system.
     4    3. Proprietors utilizing chatbots shall provide clear, conspicuous and
     5  explicit  notice  to  users that they are interacting with an artificial
     6  intelligence chatbot program rather than  a  human  representative.  The
     7  text of the notice shall appear in the same language and in a size easi-
     8  ly  readable  by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font
     9  size of other text appearing on the website  on  which  the  chatbot  is
    10  utilized.
    11    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    12  have become a law.