State AI law
Arkansas
AI laws
We track 14 artificial-intelligence bills and regulations in Arkansas. 10 have been signed or enacted.
Last updated Oct 12, 2026 · How we collect and check bills
Where Arkansas’s bills stand
14 bills- Introduced
- 0
- In committee
- 0
- Passed a chamber
- 0
- Signed or enacted
- 10
- Dead or vetoed
- 4
Overview
How Arkansas regulates AI
Arkansas has 14 published AI-related bills in our register, 10 of them signed or enacted. Every bill below links to its own page with the status, dates and a plain-English summary.
Industries these bills touch
Arkansas AI law guides
For reporters
As of October 16, 2026, Arkansas has enacted 10 AI laws, according to AI Laws by State. That ties for 15th most among the 50 states and D.C.
Free to quote and reuse with credit to AI Laws by State. Cite as: AI Laws by State, “Arkansas AI laws,” ailawsbystate.com/state/AR, accessed October 16, 2026.
Deepfake Laws in Arkansas
Arkansas has enacted deepfake legislation. See how it compares with other states, including penalties, scope and enforcement.
Arkansas AI bills
RSS feed for ArkansasTo Prohibit Deceptive And Fraudulent Deepfakes In Election Communications.
Arkansas HB 1041 (2025), as engrossed, would have added Ark. Code § 7-6-106 to bar distributing, within 90 days before an election, synthetic media the person knows or should know is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake of a candidate or party on the ballot, unless it carries a disclosure such as 'This content has been manipulated or artificially generated.' Depicted candidates could seek injunctions, and the State Board of Election Commissioners could fine violators up to $10,000, $5,000 or $1,000 depending on the case. It died in the House committee at sine die adjournment on May 5, 2025.
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING CRIMINAL OFFENSES RELATED TO POSSESSION OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIAL THAT DEPICTS A CHILD; TO INCLUDE A …
Arkansas Act 977 of 2025 brings AI-generated child sexual abuse material under the state's child exploitation laws. "Computer generated" means produced, adapted or modified in whole or part using artificial intelligence; "indistinguishable" means an ordinary person would conclude it shows an actual child (drawings, cartoons and paintings excluded). The pandering, possession, distribution and viewing offenses, and electronic facilitation of child sexual abuse (Class B felony), now cover such images. Law enforcement, interactive computer services and good-faith AI adversarial testing are exempt.
Regarding The Ownership Of Model Training And Content Generated By A Generative Artificial Intelligence Tool.
Arkansas Act 927 of 2025 sets who owns what a generative AI tool produces. The person who provides the input owns the generated content, as long as it doesn't infringe existing copyrights or other intellectual property, and owns a model trained with the tool if the training data was lawfully acquired and ownership hasn't been transferred by contract. When an employee uses the tool within the scope of employment and under the employer's direction and control, the employer owns the result. Approved April 21, 2025; effective August 5, 2025.
TO CREATE A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM THAT CAUSES HARM; AND TO IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFO…
Arkansas's SB 612 (Act 901 of 2025) adds Arkansas Code 4-88-1501 and following. A social media platform may not use a design, algorithm or feature that it knows, or should have known through reasonable care, causes a user to purchase a controlled substance, develop an eating disorder, commit or attempt suicide, or develop or sustain an addiction to the platform. "Promoting" content to a minor (under 16) includes algorithmic promotion based on previous searches or engagement. The act creates a private right of action for harm and a civil penalty for a platform that knowingly and willfully contributes to a minor's suicide or attempted suicide. Act date April 21, 2025.
TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL CREATION OR DISTRIBUTION OF DEEPFAKE VISUAL MATERIAL; AND TO ESTABLISH A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR UNLA…
Arkansas Act 827 of 2025 makes it a crime to knowingly create or distribute, without consent, realistic deepfake images or video showing an identifiable person nude or engaged in sexual conduct: a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class D felony after that. The Attorney General may sue providers or developers of prompt-based image generation tools used to make such material if they lacked reasonable safeguards, and injured people may sue the tool provider or whoever caused the deepfake, recovering damages and attorney's fees. Approved April 17, 2025; effective August 5, 2025.
To Require Public Entities To Create A Policy Concerning The Authorized Use Of Artificial Intelligence.
Act 848 requires every Arkansas public entity, from state departments to cities, counties, school districts and colleges, to adopt an artificial intelligence and automated decision tool policy. The policy must define the authorized uses of AI and automated decision tools and require an authorized human employee or designee to make every final decision, whatever the AI recommends. Entities must train employees on the policy and create a disciplinary procedure for violations. Because the act has no emergency clause, it took effect August 5, 2025.
To Prohibit Healthcare Providers And Healthcare Insurers From Using Artificial Intelligence In The Delivery Of Healthcare Services Or The Ge…
Arkansas HB 1816 (2025) would have added Ark. Code § 17-80-123 to bar healthcare providers and healthcare insurers from using artificial intelligence in delivering healthcare services or generating medical records, unless the AI is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and verified by a quality assurance laboratory. It was filed March 17, 2025, referred to the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, and withdrawn by its author on April 14, 2025.
Concerning Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, And Other Automated Technologies; And To Regulate Certain Practices Of Healthcare Insurers.
Arkansas HB 1297 (2025), as engrossed, would have added a subchapter (Ark. Code §§ 23-63-2101 to 2113) regulating healthcare insurers' use of AI and automated decision-making in utilization review. Insurers would have had to disclose algorithm details from January 1, 2026, give explanations for AI-supported denials, and have a clinician licensed in Arkansas review adverse prior authorization determinations. The Insurance Commissioner could fine up to $25,000 per determination. The author withdrew it on April 1, 2025.
To Create The Offense Of Creating, Distributing, Possessing, Or Viewing Artificial Intelligence-generated Matter Depicting Sexually Explicit…
Arkansas HB 1518 (2025) would have added Ark. Code § 5-27-611 making it an offense to knowingly use AI or other computer technology to create a visual depiction of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct that is indistinguishable from actual conduct, to distribute or sell such a depiction, or to possess or view it. A first offense would have been a Class C felony and a later offense a Class B felony. It was filed February 18, 2025, referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and withdrawn by its author on March 18, 2025.
To Amend The Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act Of 2016; And To Provide Protections For An Individual Whose Photograph, Voice, Or…
Arkansas's HB 1071 (Act 159 of 2025) updates the Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act of 2016 to cover AI. "Likeness" now includes reproductions of a person's image generated through AI; "photograph" includes image, video or three-dimensional generation through AI; and a new definition of "voice" covers a sound readily identifiable and attributable to a particular individual, whether actual or simulated, including AI-generated simulations. The Act's property rights are declared not to be intellectual property for purposes of 47 U.S.C. § 230. Approved February 25, 2025 (Act 159).
To allow the operation of a personal delivery device in pedestrian areas and certain streets and roads
Arkansas's Act 926 of 2021 (HB 1767), the Personal Delivery Device Act, authorizes delivery robots: electrically powered cargo devices of up to 500 pounds equipped with automated driving technology that lets them operate with or without a person's active control or monitoring. Devices may travel at up to 10 mph in pedestrian areas and 20 mph on county or city streets, but not on interstates, state highways or roads posted above 45 mph. They must yield to pedestrians, show lights at night and carry the operator's contact and a unique number. Operators need $100,000 of liability insurance per device. Localities may ban devices where unsafe but not regulate their design.
To amend the law concerning autonomous vehicles
Arkansas's HB 1562 (Act 619 of 2021) updates the state's autonomous vehicle law. Autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles operate under State Highway Commission pilot programs, which must show the vehicles obey traffic laws, including at railroad crossings unless exempted, reach a minimal risk condition if the automated driving system fails, meet federal safety standards, and that a remote operator can meet crash duties. On-demand driverless capable vehicle networks may carry passengers or goods. Human and remote operators need valid driver's licenses, local governments may not add AV requirements or taxes, and the original maker of a vehicle a third party converts into an AV is not liable.
Concerning the operation of autonomous vehicles at railroad crossings
Arkansas's HB 1822 (Act 1052 of 2019) amends the autonomous vehicle pilot program law. A pilot program's statement that its autonomous or fully autonomous vehicles can follow traffic and motor vehicle safety laws must include the ability to safely negotiate railroad crossings, unless the Arkansas Department of Transportation grants an exemption for operation at railroad crossings. The department must consult railroad companies operating in the state before granting any such exemption. The act took effect on the Governor's approval under an emergency clause, because autonomous vehicles could begin operating as soon as March 14, 2019.
To authorize the operation of autonomous vehicles or fully autonomous vehicles on the streets and highways of this state under an autonomous…
Arkansas's HB 1561 (Act 468 of 2019) authorizes autonomous vehicles under a pilot program approved by the State Highway Commission. A program is approved automatically 60 days after submission and must state its commercial purpose, any insurance requirements, and that the vehicles can obey traffic laws, that a fully autonomous vehicle can reach a reasonably safe state if its automated driving system fails, and that it can meet crash-reporting duties. Fully autonomous vehicles, meaning SAE level 4 or 5, may run without seat belts, a steering wheel or a rearview mirror, and up to three vehicles may operate at once. It took effect on approval under an emergency clause.
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