Law / United States / New Hampshire

AI Chatbot Solicitation of Children

RSA 639:3, III-a; RSA 507:8-k

A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.

In force 8 months, effective 1 January 2026.

An AI prohibited practices rule binding private bodies.

As of 6 September 2026.

What it requires

  • Do not operate an AI chatbot or other generative-communication application that, knowing it is directing a communication to a child, facilitates, encourages, offers, solicits, or recommends that the child imminently engage in sexually explicit conduct, illegal drug or alcohol use, self-harm or suicide, or violence against another person.
  • A violation is prosecuted as a misdemeanor, not a felony, under RSA 639:3, III-a.
  • The attorney general, not the child or a parent directly, holds the sole right to bring a civil action against you for a violation, seeking damages with a floor of $1,000 per violation.
  • This does not reach a cloud, telecommunications, or information service provider handling another party's content, or an AI chat feature that is incidental to a video game, streaming service, or similar entertainment product.

If you get it wrong

Criminal exposureYes

Private right of actionNo

Criminal exposure note

A violation of RSA 639:3, III-a is prosecuted as a misdemeanor: RSA 639:3, V reserves felony treatment for a violation of paragraph III (solicitation of a child to create a visual representation of sexual activity) and states that all other violations of the section are misdemeanors.

Statutory damages

Recoverable only through an action the attorney general brings under RSA 507:8-k on the child's, parent's, or next friend's behalf; the statute gives no private right of action to bring that suit directly.

As of
6 September 2026
Currency
USD
Per person minimum
1,000

What this law does

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

An owner or operator of a computer online service, including an AI chat program, large language model bot, chat bot, or character AI whose sole purpose is open-ended generative communication, commits endangering the welfare of a child under RSA 639:3, III-a if, knowing it is directing the communication to a child, it facilitates, encourages, offers, solicits, or recommends that the child imminently engage in sexually explicit conduct, producing a visual depiction of such conduct, illegal drug or alcohol use, self-harm or suicide, or a crime of violence against another person.

RSA 639:3, V classifies a violation of this paragraph as a misdemeanor rather than the felony reserved for paragraph III of the same section. A separate provision, RSA 507:8-k, exposes the same owner or operator to civil liability for damages proximately caused, with a floor of $1,000 in liquidated damages per violation, but reserves the right to bring that action to the attorney general alone rather than to the child or parent directly.

Neither provision reaches a cloud, telecommunications, or information service provider handling another party's content, or an AI chat feature incidental to a video game, streaming service, or similar entertainment product.

When LexLint raises it

  • deploys_chatbot
  • generates_content
  • automated_outreach
  • serves_minors

Read the law

official text of RSA 639:3 and RSA 507:8-k, New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (gencourt.state.nh.us)

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