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AI Laws in Honolulu, Hawaii
As of 2026-08-12, AI Laws USA tracks 14 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Honolulu, Hawaii: 10+ federal protections, 4 Hawaii state-level rules (no Honolulu-specific ordinances are indexed yet). Coverage is strongest on consumer protection, deepfakes, AI-generated images, and AI disclosure and transparency. 2 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Honolulu local AI rules (and Honolulu County)
No city- or county-specific AI ordinances are currently indexed for Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Honest gap: We don't currently index any Honolulu-specific AI ordinances. Federal and Hawaii state rules still apply throughout the city. Have we missed something? Email feedback@ailawsusa.com.
Hawaii-level AI rules
4 Hawaii state rules apply to residents and businesses in Honolulu. Sorted strongest first.
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Enacted (not yet in effect) Moderate protection
Hawaii AI Companion Safety Act (Act 248)
Hawaii · Enacted 2026-07-14 · HI SB 3001 CD1 (2026)
Hawaii enacted a law (Act 248, signed July 14, 2026) requiring AI companion chatbot operators to clearly disclose users are talking to AI, implement self-harm and suicidal-ideation protocols, protect minors from manipulative engagement techniques and sexually explicit content, provide parental tools, and file annual reports with the state Behavioral Health Administration.
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Blocked / in litigation Limited protection
Hawaii Election Deepfake Law (blocked)
Hawaii · Enacted 2024-07-03 · 2024 HI Sess. Laws Act 191 (SB 2687); D. Haw. permanent injunction Jan. 30, 2026
Hawaii enacted a law in 2024 prohibiting materially deceptive AI-generated media of candidates near elections — but a federal court permanently enjoined it on January 30, 2026, finding it violated the First Amendment. The law remains on the books but is currently unenforceable.
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In effect Limited protection
HI SB 309 (deepfake intimate-image crime)
Hawaii · Effective 2021-06-23 · Haw. SB 309 (2021), Act 59; HRS Sec. 711-1110.9
Hawaii expanded its first-degree violation-of-privacy crime to cover deepfake-style imagery. It is now an offense to intentionally create or disclose a nude or sexually explicit image or video of a 'composite fictitious person' that includes the recognizable features of a real, identifiable individual so that it appears to show that real person, when done with intent to substantially harm them or as revenge. The crime is a class C felony.
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In effect Limited protection
HI DOI AI Bulletin
HI · Effective 2025-12-10 · Hawaii Insurance Commissioner Memorandum 2025-13A (2025-12-10)
The HI Department of Insurance adopted the NAIC Model Bulletin on Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Insurers. Insurers licensed in HI 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.
Federal AI rules that apply in Honolulu, Hawaii
These federal protections apply everywhere in the United States, including Honolulu, Hawaii. 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) proceeded toward settlement; in September 2025 Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion class settlement covering ~500,000 works. Judge Alsup granted preliminary approval September 25, 2025 and final approval July 20, 2026. The appeal period runs through August 19, 2026; class members will not receive payments until at least end of 2026.
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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 Honolulu, Hawaii
Are there AI laws in Honolulu, Hawaii?
What federal AI rules apply in Honolulu?
Does Hawaii have an AI privacy law?
Are deepfakes illegal in Hawaii?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Honolulu?
How do I report an AI law violation in Honolulu?
Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Honolulu?
Is Honolulu regulated by Hawaii's consumer privacy act?
Have we missed an AI rule in Honolulu?
This page is generated from our open civic dataset. If you know of a Honolulu ordinance, county rule, or local enforcement action we should add, email feedback@ailawsusa.com or submit a correction. Every entry must include a verifiable source.