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HB 2666

An Act providing for limitations on the use of user data in the creation of artificial intelligence simulations and for private right of action; and imposing penalties.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz and 11 co-sponsors

Requires explicit opt-in consent for post-mortem or long-inactivity AI simulations and gives estates control, labeling, and penalties to protect user data.

Referred to Communications & Technology
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Bill Summary · HB 2666

Summary of HB 2666 (2025-2026) – Pennsylvania

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes protections for individuals’ data and digital identities in the context of artificial intelligence (AI).
  • Creates explicit opt-in and consent requirements for post-mortem or long-inactivity AI simulations that imitate a user.
  • Defines penalties and enforcement mechanisms, including private rights of action, to deter unauthorized use of user data for AI simulations.
  • Addresses labeling, transparency, and estate/representative control over AI-generated content after death or extended inactivity.

Key definitions (highlights)

  • AI and AI simulation: Broadly includes systems that generate predictions, content, or interactions, including generative AI.
  • Digital platform: Platforms with more than 1,000,000 registered users that store user-generated content (e.g., online services, social media, messaging services, apps).
  • Post mortem simulation: AI-generated content that purports to originate from a deceased person.
  • Extended inactivity: Five-year period with no user login or verified interaction.
  • Personally authorized representative: Individual designated by the user to make posthumous decisions about accounts.
  • Synthetic content: Content significantly modified or created by AI.
  • Private right of action: Allows individuals or their estates/authorized representatives to sue for violations.

What the bill would do (principal provisions)

  1. Explicit opt-in consent required for post-mortem or long-inactivity AI use (Section 3)

    • Digital platforms may not deploy AI simulations of a user after death or after extended inactivity unless:
      • Clear and conspicuous opt-in consent is obtained, separate from standard terms of service.
      • Consent specifies: categories of content that may be generated, duration of post-mortem simulation, and whether private communications may be used.
      • User is informed in plain language about data usage and whether the AI will continue public posting, private messaging, or interactive engagement.
    • Consent is revocable and expires two years after death unless renewed by the estate.

  2. Default prohibition absent consent (Section 4)

    • Without explicit opt-in consent, platforms must:
      • Disable the AI simulation of the user.
      • Refrain from generating content that appears to originate from the user.
      • Mark the account as inactive or memorialized.

  3. Estate and digital executor rights (Section 5)

    • Upon verified death, a legally authorized representative can:
      • Revoke prior consent.
      • Terminate AI simulation.
      • Request deletion of AI-generated content created after death.
    • Estate directives must be honored; if no representative exists, a personally authorized representative can act.

  4. Transparency and labeling (Section 6)

    • All AI-generated content must include a clear disclosure that content is AI-generated.
    • Disclosures must be conspicuous and appropriate for the medium.
    • Where feasible, disclosures must include:
      • AI name/version, creation/modification date, and a unique identifier.
      • Compliance with industry labeling standards.
      • Disclosure should be permanent or not reasonably removable.

  5. Commercial exploitation requires separate consent (Section 7)

    • Post-mortem simulations may not be monetized or used commercially without prior consent (separate from general terms).
    • Estate must provide written consent, revocable, and the consent expires five years after death unless renewed.

  6. Enforcement (Section 8)

    • Each instance of violation is a separate offense.
    • Attorney General enforcement: civil penalties ($5,000 to $10,000 per violation), injunctive relief, and restitution.
    • Private right of action: available to living individuals or estates/authorized representatives of deceased individuals.

  7. Intellectual property rights (Section 9)

    • Digital platform accounts governed by this act are treated as nontransferable IP for purposes of interpreting Section 230 protections.

  8. Effective date (Section 10)

    • The act would take effect one year after enactment.

Who would be affected

  • Digital platforms with more than 1,000,000 registered users that store user-generated content, including social media, online services, messaging services, and digital applications.
  • Users and their estates/authorized representatives who wish to control or prohibit AI simulations that imitate them after death or during extended inactivity.
  • Creators of AI-generated content, especially post-mortem content, who must comply with labeling and consent requirements.
  • Consumers seeking enforcement through the state Attorney General or through private action.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Introduced June 24, 2026, and referred to the Communications and Technology Committee.
  • Effective date is one year after enactment; all consent, labeling, and enforcement provisions would apply after that period.

Overall impact

  • Strengthens user consent and posthumous control over AI representations.
  • Implements strict labeling and transparency standards for AI-generated content.
  • Creates enforceable penalties and a private right of action to deter improper use of data for AI simulations.
  • Elevates the role of estates and authorized representatives in deciding whether and how a deceased person’s digital footprint may be simulated or monetized.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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