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AI Laws in Providence, RI, Rhode Island
As of 2026-07-26, AI Laws USA tracks 19 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Providence, RI, Rhode Island: 10+ federal protections, 7 Rhode Island state-level rules, and 2 local Providence, RI ordinances. Coverage is strongest on automated decision-making, consumer protection, government use of AI, and consumer data privacy. 9 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Providence, RI local AI rules
2 local AI rules specific to Providence, RI, Rhode Island.
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In effect Limited protection
Ordinance prohibiting price-fixing rental algorithms
Providence, RI · Effective 2025-05-15 · Ordinance prohibiting price-fixing rental algorithms
Providence (ordinance by Council President Rachel Miller, final passage May 15, 2025) bans landlords from using price-fixing rental algorithms like RealPage, with civil penalties up to $500 per day per instance of violation.
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In effect Limited protection
Providence Police Department General Order 460.01 - Unmanned
Providence, RI · Effective 2024-03-01 · Providence Police Department General Order 460.01 - Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Operations
The Providence Police Department issued General Order 460.01 governing its UAS operations, a formal written policy setting the rules for drone deployment by the department.
Rhode Island-level AI rules
7 Rhode Island state rules apply to residents and businesses in Providence, RI. Sorted strongest first.
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In effect Limited protection
Executive Order 24-06: Artificial Intelligence and Data Cent
Rhode Island · Effective 2024-02-29 · Executive Order 24-06: Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers of Excellence
Governor Dan McKee's executive order establishes an AI Task Force, an AI Center of Excellence and a Data Center of Excellence, and directs the Department of Administration to develop a state code of ethics for AI and secure AI adoption across state agencies.
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In effect Limited protection
RI Privacy Law (RIDTPPA)
Rhode Island · Effective 2026-01-01 · R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-48.1 (2024)
Rhode Island residents can access, correct, delete, and port their data, and opt out of targeted advertising, data sales, and profiling. The Attorney General enforces with fines up to $10,000 per violation and — unusually — no cure period.
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In effect Moderate protection
RI Therapy Chatbot Ban (2026)
Rhode Island · Effective 2026-06-22 · Rhode Island H 7349 / S 2197 (2026), signed June 22, 2026
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed H 7349 / S 2197 on June 22, 2026, prohibiting any person or business from providing therapy or psychotherapy services using artificial intelligence. Only licensed mental health professionals may conduct such sessions. The law targets AI companion chatbots and virtual therapy products that may lead users to believe they are receiving licensed mental health care from a human professional.
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In effect Moderate protection
RI AI Companion Self-Harm Safety (2026)
Rhode Island · Effective 2026-06-22 · Rhode Island S 2195 / H 7350 (2026), signed June 22, 2026
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed S 2195 / H 7350 on June 22, 2026, requiring operators of AI companion chatbots to implement protocols for identifying and responding to suicidal ideation. Chatbot operators must provide users experiencing suicidal ideation with crisis resources and may not discourage users from seeking professional help. Civil penalties reach $15,000 per day per violation, with proceeds directed to Rhode Island suicide prevention programs.
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In effect Limited protection
RI DOI AI Bulletin
RI · Effective 2024-03-15 · Rhode Island DBR Insurance Bulletin 2024-03 (2024-03-15)
The RI Department of Insurance adopted the NAIC Model Bulletin on Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Insurers. Insurers licensed in RI must maintain a written AI program with governance, risk-management, testing, third-party-AI oversight, and documentation controls. The bulletin operationalizes existing unfair-trade-practice and unfair-discrimination law as applied to insurers' AI use cases — underwriting, pricing, claims, fraud detection, and marketing.
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In effect Limited protection
RI Synthetic Intimate Imagery Law
Rhode Island · Effective 2025-07-02 · 2025 RI H5046 / S0136
Rhode Island updated its unauthorized-image ("revenge porn") statute to explicitly criminalize sexually explicit images that were created by a digital device or AI — i.e., synthetic nudes and explicit deepfakes of real people — making nonconsensual creation and distribution a crime. Signed into law July 2, 2025.
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In effect Limited protection
Rhode Island 17-30 (ban on undisclosed election deepfakes near an election)
Rhode Island · Effective 2025-07-02 · R.I. Gen. Laws 17-30-1 to 17-30-4; P.L. 2025, ch. 409 & 410, eff. July 2, 2025
Rhode Island bars distributing synthetic media that the distributor knows is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake of a candidate within 90 days of an election. The ban does not apply if the image, audio, or video carries a clear disclosure that it was manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence. A candidate depicted in violating media can sue to block its distribution and may also recover damages.
Federal AI rules that apply in Providence, RI, Rhode Island
These federal protections apply everywhere in the United States, including Providence, RI, Rhode Island. 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 Providence, RI, Rhode Island
Are there AI laws in Providence, RI, Rhode Island?
What federal AI rules apply in Providence, RI?
Does Rhode Island have an AI privacy law?
Are deepfakes illegal in Rhode Island?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Providence, RI?
How do I report an AI law violation in Providence, RI?
Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Providence, RI?
Is Providence, RI regulated by Rhode Island's consumer privacy act?
Have we missed an AI rule in Providence, RI?
This page is generated from our open civic dataset. If you know of a Providence, RI ordinance, county rule, or local enforcement action we should add, email [email protected] or submit a correction. Every entry must include a verifiable source.