New Jersey
AI behavior law: bot and agent disclosure, crawler and training-data rules, automated-agent transactions, and algorithmic decision-making.
Summary
New Jersey has one enacted AI-behavior-specific statute — a 2019 bot-disclosure law (N.J. Stat. §§ 56:18-1 to 56:18-5) that requires clear disclosure when an automated account is used in commercial transactions or election solicitations — plus a 2025 deepfake criminalization law (P.L. 2025, c. 40) that establishes civil and criminal penalties for producing or sharing deceptive synthetic media. The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights adopted final rules in December 2025 (N.J.A.C. 13:16) codifying that automated decision-making tools are subject to the same algorithmic-discrimination analysis as human-driven decisions under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, covering employment, housing, lending, and public accommodation. A significant package of generative-AI bills is advancing through the 2026-2027 legislature: A4730 (consumer disclosure when businesses use generative AI in commerce), A4729 (election chatbot disclosure), and A4731 (licensed-professional AI policies) all cleared committee in March 2026 but have not yet been enacted. An earlier bill (S1438) to create a government AI oversight board and regulate state agency use of automated systems passed the Senate in the 2024-2025 session but did not reach enactment before session end.
Enacted law
Government obligations
| Instrument | Category | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deepfake Criminalization Law (N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:21-17.7 to 2C:21-17.8 (P.L. 2025, c. 40, A3540)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2025-04-02 | New Jersey Legislature (pub.njleg.gov); GovTech (govtech.com); NJ Monitor (newjerseymonitor.com) |
Private sector obligations
| Instrument | Category | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deepfake Criminalization Law (N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:21-17.7 to 2C:21-17.8 (P.L. 2025, c. 40, A3540)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2025-04-02 | New Jersey Legislature (pub.njleg.gov); GovTech (govtech.com); NJ Monitor (newjerseymonitor.com) |
| Division on Civil Rights Disparate Impact Rules — Algorithmic Discrimination (N.J.A.C. 13:16 (adopted December 15, 2025)) | Automated decision-making, Agents acting on behalf of users | 2025-12-15 | New Jersey Office of Attorney General (njoag.gov); Littler (littler.com); Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor (consumerfinancialserviceslawmonitor.com) |
| New Jersey Bot Disclosure Act (N.J. Stat. §§ 56:18-1 to 56:18-5 (P.L. 2019, c. 486, A4563)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2020-07-20 | New Jersey Legislature (pub.njleg.state.nj.us); Justia (law.justia.com) |
Drafted & in discussion
| Instrument | Status | Applies to | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Agency Artificial Intelligence Oversight Bill (S1438) (N.J. Senate Bill 1438, 2024-2025 Regular Session) | Dead / withdrawn | Government | Automated decision-making, Agents acting on behalf of users | LegiScan (legiscan.com); Hoboken Girl (hobokengirl.com); Regulatory Oversight (regulatoryoversight.com) |
| Election Chatbot Disclosure Bill (A4729) (N.J. Assembly Bill 4729, 2026-2027 Regular Session) | In committee | Private sector | Bot / agent disclosure | LegiScan (legiscan.com); Gloucester City News (gloucestercitynews.net); NJ Assembly Democrats (assemblydems.com) |
| Generative AI Consumer Disclosure Bill (A4730) (N.J. Assembly Bill 4730, 2026-2027 Regular Session) | In committee | Private sector | Bot / agent disclosure | NJ Assembly Democrats (assemblydems.com); LegiScan (legiscan.com); FastDemocracy (fastdemocracy.com) |
| Licensed Professionals Generative AI Policy Bill (A4731) (N.J. Assembly Bill 4731, 2026-2027 Regular Session) | In committee | Private sector | Bot / agent disclosure, Automated decision-making | LegiScan (legiscan.com); NJ Assembly Democrats (assemblydems.com) |
Automated-access legality
Carried forward from the crawler-law index. Governs whether automated clients may access public websites in this jurisdiction.
| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Authorization test | without permission |
| Public-page carve-out | yes |
| Terms-of-service browsewrap enforceable | notice dependent |
| Terms-of-service clickwrap enforceable | yes |
| Copyright exception model | fair use |
| Text and data mining — commercial status | unsettled |
| Text and data mining — opt-out mechanism | none |
| robots.txt legal weight | non binding notice |
| AI training-specific law | none |
| Privacy regime | NJ Data Privacy Act |
| Trespass to chattels | not recognized |
Last reviewed: 2026-05-23. Confidence: high. Not legal advice.