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AI Laws in Pocatello, Idaho
As of 2026-07-19, AI Laws USA tracks 17 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Pocatello, Idaho: 10+ federal protections, 6 Idaho state-level rules, and 1 local Pocatello ordinance. Coverage is strongest on consumer protection, deepfakes, AI-generated images, and government use of AI. 6 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Pocatello local AI rules (and Bannock County)
1 local AI rule specific to Pocatello, Idaho or Bannock County.
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In effect Moderate protection
Pocatello ID data center CUP denial upheld (July 16, 2026)
Pocatello, ID · Effective 2026-07-16 · Pocatello, ID City Council 4-1 vote, July 16, 2026, upholding CUP denial for Lex Developments 100MW AI data center
Pocatello, Idaho's city council said no to a proposed $2.6 billion AI data center. On July 16, 2026 the council voted 4-1 to uphold a hearing examiner's earlier denial of the conditional use permit for the 100-megawatt Lex Developments project. The developer cannot reapply for 12 months and has vowed to sue. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes were among the project's opponents.
Idaho-level AI rules
6 Idaho state rules apply to residents and businesses in Pocatello. Sorted strongest first.
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In effect Limited protection
ID Synthetic NCII Law
Idaho · Effective 2024-03-19 · Idaho HB 575, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (2024), signed Mar. 19, 2024
Idaho makes it a crime to knowingly disclose explicit synthetic media — AI-generated or digitally manipulated intimate imagery — of an identifiable person when the person did not consent and disclosure is likely to cause substantial emotional distress. This was Idaho's first law specifically targeting AI-generated revenge porn.
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In effect Limited protection
ID FAIR Elections Act
Idaho · Effective 2024-03-25 · Idaho HB 664, 67th Leg., 2nd Reg. Sess. (2024), signed Mar. 25, 2024
Idaho's FAIR Elections Act requires disclosure when AI-generated synthetic audio or video is used in election campaign materials and prohibits deceptive deepfakes in electioneering communications. Candidates falsely depicted can seek injunctive relief and civil damages.
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In effect Limited protection
ID PDD law (HB 191)
Idaho · Effective 2017-07-01 · Idaho Code §§ 49-2701 et seq.
Idaho authorized statewide sidewalk delivery robots under a uniform framework (80 lb, 10 mph), required $100,000 in liability insurance, and gave local governments limited authority to add operating rules.
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In effect Limited protection
Idaho AI Personhood Prohibition
Idaho · Effective 2022-07-01 · Idaho Code Sec. 5-346 (HB 720, 2022, ch. 322)
Idaho law declares that artificial intelligence cannot be granted legal personhood in the state, alongside environmental elements, nonhuman animals, and inanimate objects. The provision preserves the existing legal-person status of municipalities, corporations, and other recognized entities that held it before July 1, 2022. It is a structural/definitional statute and carries no penalty.
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Enacted (not yet in effect) Limited protection
Idaho Conversational AI Safety Act (chatbot disclosure + crisis protocol)
Idaho · Effective 2027-07-01 · Idaho SB 1297 (2026), ch. 249
Idaho's Conversational AI Safety Act requires operators of conversational AI services to clearly disclose that a user is interacting with AI whenever a reasonable person could be misled into thinking it is human. Operators must adopt a protocol to respond to users who express suicidal ideation, including making reasonable efforts to refer them to crisis resources, and may not claim to provide professional mental or behavioral health care. There are added protections for minor users, including persistent AI disclosures and parental controls for younger children.
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In effect Limited protection
Idaho S1227 (AI in K-12 schools)
Idaho · Effective 2026-07-01 · Idaho SB 1227 (2026)
Idaho directs the State Department of Education to build a statewide framework for generative AI use in K-12 schools, emphasizing human oversight, accessibility, student privacy, and academic integrity. Each school district and public charter school must adopt its own generative-AI use policy aligned with that framework. AI education-technology vendors must disclose their use of machine learning, predictive analytics, and generative AI and provide data-protection assurances.
Federal AI rules that apply in Pocatello, Idaho
These federal protections apply everywhere in the United States, including Pocatello, Idaho. 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 Pocatello, Idaho
Are there AI laws in Pocatello, Idaho?
What federal AI rules apply in Pocatello?
Does Idaho have an AI privacy law?
Are deepfakes illegal in Idaho?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Pocatello?
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Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Pocatello?
Is Pocatello regulated by Idaho's consumer privacy act?
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This page is generated from our open civic dataset. If you know of a Pocatello ordinance, county rule, or local enforcement action we should add, email [email protected] or submit a correction. Every entry must include a verifiable source.