Proposed New Jersey legislation would subject AI chatbot providers to the state’s products liability law and establish new content and data privacy requirements. The bill would impose strict liability and provide mandatory relief in the form of statutory damages of $5,000 per violation plus an award of attorneys’ fees, with a private right of action in addition to enforcement authority granted to the New Jersey Attorney General.
Quoted in the New Jersey Law Journal, Scott Christie discusses the potential litigation implications, warning that the combination of strict liability and statutory damages could drive class action litigation and create significant financial exposure. He also points to potential disputes over the bill’s definition of “personal data,” including how broadly the term could be interpreted and who would bear the burden of proving whether information falls within that definition.