News Nebraska LB 1185 Conversational AI Safety Act 2026

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed LB 1185, the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act, into law on April 14, 2026, establishing comprehensive consumer protections for publicly accessible conversational AI services. The legislation, which becomes operative July 1, 2027, addresses growing concerns about AI companions, chatbots that simulate human interaction, and their potential harms to minors and vulnerable users.<ref name="troutman-april24">Troutman Pepper: Proposed State AI Law Update — April 20, 2026</ref><ref name="legiscan-lb1185">LegiScan: Nebraska LB 1185 — Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act</ref>

Provisions

Disclosure Requirements

The Act mandates that operators of conversational AI services must clearly disclose when users are interacting with artificial intelligence if a reasonable person could be misled into believing they are communicating with a human. For users under 18, disclosures must either: (1) appear as a persistent visible disclaimer, or (2) be displayed at the beginning of each session and at least every three hours during continuous interactions.<ref name="ne-leg-1185">Nebraska Legislature: LB 1185 Introduced Text</ref>

Prohibited Content for Minors

LB 1185 prohibits operators from using conversational AI to:

Produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct involving minors
Generate direct statements encouraging minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct
Generate statements that sexually objectify minors
Simulate human-like interactions through explicit claims of sentience, statements simulating emotional dependence, romantic or sexual innuendos, or role-playing adult-minor relationships<ref name="ne-leg-1185"/>

Operators must also adopt reasonable measures to prevent deceptive interactions with minors and provide disclosure information to parents and guardians of minor account holders ages 13 and older based on relevant risks.<ref name="ne-leg-1185"/>

Mental Health and Crisis Response

The legislation imposes specific safeguards regarding mental health. Operators cannot misrepresent conversational AI services as designed to provide professional mental or behavioral health care. Additionally, operators must adopt protocols to respond to prompts regarding suicidal ideation or self-harm by making reasonable efforts to refer users to crisis service providers such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or Crisis Text Line.<ref name="ne-leg-1185"/>

Enforcement

The Nebraska Attorney General has exclusive enforcement authority and may bring civil actions for violations on behalf of the state or aggrieved individuals. The Act provides a safe harbor for model developers, explicitly stating that developers of underlying AI models are not held liable for violations committed by third-party operators using those models to provide conversational AI services.<ref name="ne-leg-1185"/>

Legislative History

LB 1185 was introduced during the 109th Nebraska Legislature session. The bill passed unanimously through the legislature with a 49-0 vote. It was signed by Governor Pillen on April 14, 2026, shortly after companion legislation was enacted in the same session.<ref name="troutman-april24"/><ref name="ne-si-1185">Nebraska Legislature: LB 1185 Select File</ref>

Effective Date and Implementation

The legislation becomes operative on July 1, 2027, giving operators approximately 15 months to implement compliance measures including updating user interfaces, establishing parental notification systems, and developing crisis response protocols.<ref name="troutman-april24"/>

Context and Significance

LB 1185 represents Nebraska's entry into the growing field of "AI companion" regulation, joining states like California, Oregon, and Tennessee that have enacted or are considering laws targeting AI chatbots and virtual companions. The legislation reflects bipartisan concern about the mental health impacts of AI systems designed to simulate human relationships, particularly among minors who may not recognize the artificial nature of such interactions.

The Act was attached to the Agricultural Data Privacy Act (LB 525) as part of a broader legislative package addressing data privacy and emerging technologies.<ref name="troutman-april24"/>

References