Nebraska and Maryland Advance AI Laws Targeting Privacy, Chatbots, and Pricing
Nebraska and Maryland enacted new AI laws focused on data privacy, chatbot safety, and pricing practices.
Why it matters: Companies face growing state-level AI regulations on data handling, consumer protection, and chatbot use. Legal and tech teams must closely track these trends to ensure compliance and shape risk strategy.
- Nebraska’s LB 525 grants farmers control over agricultural data and requires chatbot disclosures.
- Maryland’s HB 148 bans surveillance-based pricing using personal or biometric data.
- Maryland's HB 883 prohibits the use of AI chatbots for behavioral health therapy.
- New regulations will go into effect starting April 13, 2026.
U.S. states are accelerating efforts to regulate artificial intelligence, with new laws emerging in Nebraska and Maryland targeting data privacy, chatbot safety, and consumer protection.
- Nebraska’s LB 525, the Agricultural Data Privacy Act, passed on March 30, 2026, establishes that only farmers can control their agricultural data and explicitly bans its sale without producer consent. Mike Jacobson, a state senator, described the bill as a vital first step to resolve the “massive gray area” around data ownership in state law.
- LB 525 also incorporates language from the Conversational AI Safety Act, mandating that chatbot operators disclose AI interactions and implement safeguards: explicit content must be blocked for minors and chatbots cannot mimic human relationships with children. As Senator Eliot Bostar noted, these features aim to address risks stemming from increasingly realistic conversational AI targeting minors.
- Maryland's HB 148 prohibits the use of personal or biometric data in setting individualized prices—"surveillance pricing," which has drawn scrutiny from both lawmakers and retail advocates. Governor Wes Moore underscored this priority: “Marylanders deserve to know that the price they see on the shelf is the price they will pay at the register.”
- Further, Maryland’s HB 883 bars AI chatbots from engaging in behavioral health therapy, with the House passing the bill by a wide margin (110–23) on March 23, 2026.
These legislative moves will shape how private-sector organizations collect, use, and safeguard data—and set new expectations for AI-driven products and services. Compliance will be essential when these laws take effect from April 13, 2026.
By the numbers:
- March 30, 2026 — Nebraska’s LB 525 passed into law.
- 110-23 — Vote margin for Maryland’s HB 883 approval in the House.
Yes, but: No details about Maine's recently enacted AI laws are available in public sources.