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AI Laws in Columbia, South Carolina
As of 2026-07-07, AI Laws USA tracks 14 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Columbia, South Carolina: 10+ federal protections, 4 South Carolina state-level rules (no Columbia-specific ordinances are indexed yet). Coverage is strongest on children's online safety, consumer protection, AI disclosure and transparency, and non-consensual intimate imagery. 3 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Columbia local AI rules (and Richland County)
No city- or county-specific AI ordinances are currently indexed for Columbia, South Carolina.
- Honest gap: We don't currently index any Columbia-specific AI ordinances. Federal and South Carolina state rules still apply throughout the city. Have we missed something? Email [email protected].
South Carolina-level AI rules
4 South Carolina state rules apply to residents and businesses in Columbia. Sorted strongest first.
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In effect Moderate protection
SC H 3431 Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (2026)
SC · Effective 2026-03-01 · S.C. H 3431 (126th G.A., 2026) — signed Feb. 5, 2026; eff. March 1, 2026
South Carolina H 3431, the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, requires online platforms and services likely to be accessed by children under 18 to prioritize children's best interests. Covered companies must conduct data protection impact assessments before launching features accessible to minors, set privacy controls to their highest protective level by default for child users, minimize data collection, prohibit profiling children for commercial purposes without verifiable parental consent, and disclose how algorithms affect what content children see. Signed by Governor McMaster February 5, 2026; operational March 1, 2026.
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Enacted (not yet in effect) Moderate protection
SC H 4591 Stop HARM from Addictive Social Media Act (2026)
SC · Effective 2027-01-01 · S.C. H 4591 (126th G.A., 2026) — signed May 19, 2026; eff. Jan. 1, 2027
South Carolina H 4591, the Stop HARM from Addictive Social Media Act, prohibits social media platforms from deploying addictive algorithmic design features to users under 18. Covered platforms must disable infinite scroll, autoplay, and similar compulsive-engagement features for minor users without parental consent; must not push notifications to minors during school hours (7 AM–3 PM) or late night (10 PM–6 AM) without parental authorization; and may not use algorithmic recommendation systems that exploit minors' psychological vulnerabilities to drive engagement. Platforms must implement age verification. Signed May 19, 2026; effective January 1, 2027.
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In effect Limited protection
SC AI CSAM / Deepfake Laws
South Carolina · Effective 2025-05-27 · SC S.28, Act No. 57; SC S.29, Act No. 58 (2025), 126th Gen. Assembly, enacted May 27, 2025
South Carolina enacted two companion laws in May 2025 to criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Act 57 (S.28) closes loopholes excluding AI-generated CSAM from existing child exploitation statutes. Act 58 (S.29) creates a new felony offense for 'obscene visual representation of a minor,' covering wholly computer-generated sexual depictions where no real child exists.
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In effect Limited protection
South Carolina 40-57-820 (realtors accountable for AI-assisted work)
South Carolina · Effective 2024-05-21 · S.C. Code Ann. 40-57-820, enacted by 2024 Act No. 204 (H.4754), approved May 21, 2024
South Carolina makes licensed real estate professionals fully responsible for any work product they create with the help of artificial intelligence, machine learning, or similar tools. If a violation of the real estate licensing law is committed using such tools, it is treated as though the licensee committed it directly. Licensees must double-check AI-assisted work for compliance with advertising, intellectual property, confidentiality, and related rules.
Federal AI rules that apply in Columbia, South Carolina
These federal protections apply everywhere in the United States, including Columbia, South Carolina. Showing the 10 strongest and most recent.
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In effect Stronger protection
Bartz v. Anthropic
N.D. Cal. · Effective 2025-09-05 · Bartz v. Anthropic PBC, No. 3:24-cv-05417 (N.D. Cal.)
Authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson sued Anthropic over its use of pirated-book datasets to train Claude. In June 2025 Judge William Alsup ruled that training on lawfully purchased books was fair use. The piracy claims (LibGen ingestion) were not adjudicated to a final ruling — they proceeded toward settlement. In September 2025 Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion class settlement, though Judge Alsup denied preliminary approval without prejudice pending additional information on the claims protocol and attorney fees.
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In effect Stronger protection
Benavides v. Tesla (Autopilot)
S.D. Fla. · Effective 2025-08-01 · Benavides v. Tesla, Inc., No. 1:21-cv-21940 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 1, 2025)
A Florida federal jury found Tesla 33% liable in August 2025 for the 2019 death of Naibel Benavides Leon, in a crash involving Autopilot. The jury awarded $243M ($129M compensatory + $200M punitive); in February 2026 the court denied Tesla's post-trial motions and upheld the verdict in full — the first Autopilot wrongful-death verdict against Tesla.
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In effect Stronger protection
COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data)
United States · Effective 2025-06-23 · 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506; 16 C.F.R. Part 312
COPPA requires online services aimed at children under 13 to get verifiable parental consent before collecting kids' personal data. The 2025 rule update — fully in effect since April 22, 2026 — adds biometric identifiers (like face templates and voiceprints, which matter for AI tools), requires separate parental consent before sharing children's data for targeted advertising, and tightens data retention limits.
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In effect Stronger protection
TAKE IT DOWN Act
United States · Effective 2025-05-19 · Pub. L. No. 119-12 (S. 146)
Makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish intimate images of someone without consent, including AI-generated deepfakes. Social media and similar platforms must give victims a way to request removal and must take the content (and known copies) down within 48 hours. The platform removal requirement became enforceable May 19, 2026, and the FTC has already begun enforcement.
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Blocked / in litigation Stronger protection
NetChoice v. Yost (Ohio)
S.D. Ohio · Effective 2025-04-16 · NetChoice, LLC v. Yost, No. 2:24-cv-00047 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 16, 2025)
Ohio's Social Media Parental Notification Act — requiring parental consent for minors' social-media use, including algorithmic feeds — was preliminarily enjoined on February 12, 2024, then permanently enjoined on April 16, 2025 when the district court granted summary judgment for NetChoice. The state appealed to the Sixth Circuit, which vacated the district court's injunction in 2026.
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In effect Stronger protection
Thaler v. Perlmutter (Copyright)
D.C. Cir. · Effective 2025-03-18 · Thaler v. Perlmutter, 130 F.4th 1039 (D.C. Cir. 2025)
The companion copyright case: Stephen Thaler sought to register a copyright with 'Creativity Machine' (his AI) as the author. The D.C. Circuit affirmed in March 2025 that the Copyright Act's human-authorship requirement is dispositive as a matter of statutory law. AI cannot be a copyright author under U.S. law.
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In effect Stronger protection
Thomson Reuters v. Ross
D. Del. · Effective 2025-02-11 · Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH v. Ross Intelligence, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-00613 (D. Del. Feb. 11, 2025)
Thomson Reuters sued legal-research startup Ross Intelligence in 2020 for copying Westlaw headnotes to train a competing AI legal-research tool. In February 2025, Judge Stephanos Bibas (sitting by designation) granted summary judgment to Thomson Reuters on direct copyright infringement and rejected Ross's fair-use defense — the first definitive U.S. ruling on AI-training fair use. No jury trial occurred: a 2023 opinion had denied summary judgment and pointed toward trial, but the court invited renewed briefing and reversed course in the 2025 ruling.
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In effect Stronger protection
Louis v. SafeRent
D. Mass. · Effective 2024-11-20 · Louis v. SafeRent Solutions, LLC, No. 1:22-cv-10800 (D. Mass.)
SafeRent agreed in November 2024 to a $2.275M settlement and a five-year ban on using its 'SafeRent Score' for housing-voucher applicants, after a class action alleged its AI tenant-screening tool systematically denied housing to Black and Hispanic Section 8 voucher holders. The first major AI tenant-screening Fair Housing Act settlement.
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In effect Stronger protection
FTC Impersonation Rule (AI)
United States · Effective 2024-04-01 · 16 C.F.R. Part 461; 89 Fed. Reg. 15017
The FTC's Impersonation Rule lets the agency directly sue scammers who pretend to be a government agency or a real business — including those who use AI-cloned voices or generated images to do so. Civil penalties can reach $53,088 per violation. The FTC also issued a supplemental notice in February 2024 proposing to extend the rule to all individual impersonation.
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In effect Stronger protection
TCPA (AI voice calls)
United States · Effective 2024-02-08 · 47 U.S.C. § 227; FCC 24-17
Robocalls using AI-cloned or AI-generated voices are treated like other 'artificial voice' calls: callers need your prior express consent, must identify themselves, and must offer opt-outs for telemarketing. You can personally sue violators for $500 to $1,500 per illegal call.
Frequently asked questions about AI laws in Columbia, South Carolina
Are there AI laws in Columbia, South Carolina?
What federal AI rules apply in Columbia?
Does South Carolina have an AI privacy law?
Are deepfakes illegal in South Carolina?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Columbia?
How do I report an AI law violation in Columbia?
Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Columbia?
Is Columbia regulated by South Carolina's consumer privacy act?
Have we missed an AI rule in Columbia?
This page is generated from our open civic dataset. If you know of a Columbia ordinance, county rule, or local enforcement action we should add, email [email protected] or submit a correction. Every entry must include a verifiable source.