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AI Laws in Topeka, Kansas
As of 2026-08-12, AI Laws USA tracks 17 AI rules that apply to people and businesses in Topeka, Kansas: 10+ federal protections, 6 Kansas state-level rules, and 1 local Topeka ordinance. Coverage is strongest on non-consensual intimate imagery, AI-generated images, data-center siting and energy, and government use of AI. 6 of these rules are already in effect. Each entry below links to its official source.
Topeka local AI rules (and Shawnee County)
1 local AI rule specific to Topeka, Kansas or Shawnee County.
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In effect Moderate protection
Topeka KS 12-month data center moratorium (eff. July 14, 2026)
Topeka, KS · Effective 2026-07-14 · City of Topeka, KS governing body action, July 14, 2026, 12-month data center and battery storage moratorium
Topeka, Kansas paused consideration of new data center projects for 12 months on July 14, 2026. The pause also applies to battery energy storage facilities. City officials will use the year to study how data centers should be regulated before any new projects are considered.
Kansas-level AI rules
6 Kansas state rules apply to residents and businesses in Topeka. Sorted strongest first.
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In effect Limited protection
KS Synthetic CSAM Law
Kansas · Effective 2026-07-01 · KS HB 2183, 2025-26 Reg. Sess., approved by Governor Feb. 5, 2026, eff. July 1, 2026
Kansas updated its child sexual exploitation and privacy statutes to prohibit creation and distribution of visual depictions where the person depicted is indistinguishable from a real child, including AI-generated and morphed imagery. The law also addresses unlawful transmission of such visual depictions and breach of privacy. Signed by the governor February 5, 2026; took effect July 1, 2026 as part of the 124-law Kansas effective date batch.
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In effect Limited protection
Kansas HB 2479 (AI images in blackmail law)
Kansas · Effective 2026-04-09 · 2026 Kan. HB 2479, amending K.S.A. 21-5428 (blackmail)
Kansas's blackmail law now expressly covers threats to release a nude or sexual image, video, or recording of an identifiable person even when that depiction was made or altered by artificial intelligence. It applies whether or not the person was involved in producing any original image, so threatening someone with an AI-generated 'deepfake' of them can be prosecuted as blackmail. Existing criminal penalties for blackmail apply.
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In effect Limited protection
Kansas HB 2537 'Caleb's Law' (AI sextortion)
Kansas · Effective 2026-04-06 · 2026 Kan. HB 2537 ('Caleb's Law'), amending K.S.A. 21-5515 (sexual extortion)
Kansas's sexual-extortion statute now defines the covered 'image, video, or other recording' to include any depiction created, altered, or modified by artificial intelligence to appear to show a person, whether or not that person was part of any original recording. This means demands or threats backed by AI-fabricated sexual imagery fall within the crime of sexual extortion. The same act, known as 'Caleb's Law,' also raises penalties when an adult offender targets a victim under 18 or a dependent adult and creates aggravated sexual-extortion offenses.
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Expired Proposed or pending
SB526
KS · KS SB526 (2025-2026 Regular Session)
Requiring data centers to be located on land that was zoned for industrial or manufacturing uses or was not zoned on July 1, 2025, to qualify for the sales tax exemption for qualified data centers.
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In effect Limited protection
KS AI Foreign Platforms Ban
Kansas · Effective 2025-04-08 · 2025 Kan. Sess. Laws ch. 84 (Sub. HB 2313), approved Apr. 8, 2025
Kansas prohibits state employees from using AI platforms controlled by foreign adversary countries — including DeepSeek and any Chinese-owned AI models — on state-issued devices and networks. Agencies must deactivate and delete any existing accounts with such platforms.
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In effect Limited protection
State of Kansas Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy (P
Kansas · Effective 2023-07-31 · State of Kansas Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy (PPM 8200.00)
The Kansas Office of Information Technology Services enterprise policy sets acceptable-use rules for generative AI, requiring human review of all AI outputs, barring Restricted Use Information from AI tools, and imposing vendor disclosure and data-control requirements.
Federal AI rules that apply in Topeka, Kansas
These federal protections apply everywhere in the United States, including Topeka, Kansas. 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 Topeka, Kansas
Are there AI laws in Topeka, Kansas?
What federal AI rules apply in Topeka?
Does Kansas have an AI privacy law?
Are deepfakes illegal in Kansas?
Can my employer use AI to screen me for jobs in Topeka?
How do I report an AI law violation in Topeka?
Are facial recognition cameras allowed in Topeka?
Is Topeka regulated by Kansas's consumer privacy act?
Have we missed an AI rule in Topeka?
This page is generated from our open civic dataset. If you know of a Topeka 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.