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AI Laws in Arkansas
As of 2026-08-12, AI Laws USA tracks 11 AI rules in Arkansas: 8 state-level rules and 3 county or city rules. Federal AI protections apply statewide on top of these — see the federal page. Each entry links to its official source.
Arkansas state-level AI rules (8)
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In effect
Arkansas public entity AI/ADS policy mandate (Act 848, 2025)
Arkansas · Effective 2025-08-03 · Ark. Act 848 / HB 1958 (2025 Regular Session), eff. August 3, 2025
Arkansas Act 848 (HB 1958), signed April 17, 2025 and effective August 3, 2025, requires every state agency, school district, county, municipality, and other public entity in Arkansas to adopt a written policy governing the use of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making tools. Each policy must: (1) require a human official to make or confirm any final decision affecting citizens; (2) provide staff training on AI tool limitations; (3) make the policy publicly accessible upon request; and (4) prohibit using AI to make decisions based on political affiliation or for unlawful purposes. Passed unanimously — 93-0 in the House, 35-0 in the Senate.
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In effect
AR Generative AI Ownership Act (Act 927)
Arkansas · Effective 2025-08-05 · Ark. Act 927 (2025) (HB1876), codified at Ark. Code Ann. tit. 18, ch. 4 (Sec. 18-4-101 et seq.)
Arkansas set default ownership rules for the inputs and outputs of generative AI tools. A person who supplies the input or direction to a generative AI tool owns the content it produces, as long as that content does not infringe existing intellectual property rights. A person who lawfully supplies the data used to train a model owns the resulting trained model. When an employee is directed to use a generative AI tool within the scope of their job, the employer owns the resulting output and model. The law sets property rights rather than prohibitions, so it does not impose penalties.
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In effect
Arkansas AI CSAM Law
Arkansas · Effective 2025-04-22 · 2025 Ark. Acts 977 (HB 1877), amending Ark. Code Ann. § 5-27-603
Arkansas expressly criminalizes AI-generated CSAM that is indistinguishable from real child imagery — defining 'computer generated' as AI-produced and 'indistinguishable' as imagery a reasonable person would believe depicts an actual child. Limited exemptions for law enforcement and good-faith AI safety testing.
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In effect
Arkansas Deepfake Sexual Content Act
Arkansas · Effective 2025-04-17 · 2025 Ark. Acts 827 (HB 1529)
Arkansas criminalizes creating or distributing deepfake sexual imagery — AI-generated or digitally manipulated images that appear authentic and depict an identifiable person in nudity or sexual conduct without consent. First offense is a Class A misdemeanor, repeats are felonies; victims can sue for punitive damages, and the Attorney General can sue platforms that lack reasonable safeguards against generating this content.
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In effect
Arkansas Frank Broyles Act AI amendment — voice and likeness protection (2025)
Arkansas · Effective 2025-02-25 · Ark. Act 159 / HB 1071 (2025 Regular Session), amending Ark. Code Ann. § 4-75-1101
Arkansas Act 159 (HB 1071), signed February 25, 2025, amends the Frank Broyles Publicity Rights Protection Act of 2016 to explicitly cover AI-generated voice and likeness. It adds 'voice' — including AI-simulated voice that sounds like a real person — and AI-generated images to the rights protected under the Act. Any commercial use of a person's AI-replicated voice or image without explicit consent is a violation. Named for the late UA Razorbacks coach Frank Broyles; became one of the first U.S. publicity-rights laws to specifically address AI-generated audio.
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In effect
Initial Report - Arkansas Artificial Intelligence and Analyt
Arkansas · Effective 2025-02-07 · Initial Report - Arkansas Artificial Intelligence and Analytics Center of Excellence
The Arkansas AI and Analytics Center of Excellence (Department of Shared Administrative Services) delivered the governor an initial report recommending statewide AI governance, a Chief AI Officer, NIST-based evaluation of AI systems, updated procurement policies to safeguard citizen data, and AI-literacy training for state employees.
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In effect
AR DOI AI Bulletin
AR · Effective 2024-07-31 · Arkansas Insurance Department Bulletin 13-2024 (2024-07-31)
The AR Department of Insurance adopted the NAIC Model Bulletin on Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems by Insurers. Insurers licensed in AR 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
AR Act 1096 (2019 AV)
Arkansas · Effective 2019-07-24 · Act 1096 of 2019; Ark. Code Ann. §§ 27-51-1801 et seq.
Arkansas authorized commercial driver-assistive truck platooning and limited driverless AV pilots, established a Pilot Program for Driverless-Capable Vehicles administered by the Arkansas State Highway Commission, and required pilots to file insurance and incident-reporting plans.
County and city AI rules in Arkansas (3)
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In effect
Industrial Zoning Ordinance Regulating Data Centers
Little Rock, AR · Effective 2026-06-03 · Industrial Zoning Ordinance Regulating Data Centers
Little Rock's Board of Directors unanimously amended industrial zoning ordinances to regulate data centers, requiring water-use reports and setting noise limits, after declining to enact a moratorium.
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Enacted (not yet in effect)
Union County ordinance establishing a moratorium on data cen
Union County · Union County ordinance establishing a moratorium on data centers
The Union County Quorum Court passed an ordinance during an emergency meeting establishing a moratorium that pauses approval of data center projects while the county reviews infrastructure, utility, and public-safety concerns.
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Expired
Proposed 12-Month Data Center Moratorium (failed to pass)
Pulaski County, AR · Proposed 12-Month Data Center Moratorium (failed to pass)
A proposed one-year emergency moratorium on new data centers in Pulaski County was initially reported as passing but a review found the vote fell short of the required two-thirds and did not pass.
Arkansas city guides
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