Nebraska AI Laws and Regulation (2026)

Nebraska regulates AI through three enacted 2025 laws: LB 383, which criminalizes AI-generated child sexual abuse material as a Class IIA felony; LB 371, which creates civil liability for nonconsensual deepfake intimate images; and LB 77, which bans AI-only health care claim denials. The 2026 session enacted a fourth measure, the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act, and indefinitely postponed the state's two remaining AI bills.

Nebraska has taken a targeted approach to artificial intelligence regulation, enacting specific laws addressing AI-generated child exploitation material, nonconsensual intimate deepfakes, and the use of AI in health insurance decisions. While the state has not passed broad comprehensive AI legislation, its 2025 session produced three significant AI-related laws and its 2026 session enacted the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act while indefinitely postponing its two remaining AI bills.

This guide covers every enacted and pending Nebraska AI law, how federal AI policy affects the state, and what businesses and residents need to know. This article is for informational purposes only. Consult an attorney for advice specific to your situation.

AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material (LB 383)

Governor Jim Pillen signed LB 383 on May 20, 2025, making Nebraska one of a growing number of states to explicitly criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The law renamed the Child Pornography Prevention Act to the Child Sexual Abuse Material Prevention Act and expanded its scope to cover computer-generated imagery.

Criminal Penalties

LB 383 establishes a tiered penalty structure based on the offender's age and prior record. For anyone 19 years of age or older, knowingly possessing or receiving child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated content, is a Class IIA felony. Nebraska's Class IIA felony carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison with no mandatory minimum.

For offenders under 19 years of age, a first offense is a Class I misdemeanor (up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine). A second or subsequent offense by someone under 19 is elevated to a Class IV felony, carrying up to two years in prison, one year of post-release supervision, and a $10,000 fine.

Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1803(5) enhances the penalty for a person who violates the possession or receipt provisions and who has previously been convicted of a covered offense to a Class IC felony for each offense. Class IC felonies carry a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 50 years in prison. That enhancement opens with "Except as provided in subdivision (2)(b) of this section," so it does not reach a second or subsequent possession offense by a defendant under 19, which remains a Class IV felony.

Forfeiture Provisions

Courts may order forfeiture of money, securities, firearms, conveyances, electronic communication devices, and any related equipment, components, software, or hardware used in connection with the offense. This provision gives law enforcement tools to seize the technology used to create or distribute AI-generated CSAM.

Affirmative Defense

The law includes two narrow affirmative defenses, both available only against the under-19 charge in subsection (2). Neither is a single-element test: every listed element must be met.

For a defendant who was 18 or older but under 19 at the time of the offense, Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1803(3) requires all of the following: the visual depiction portrays a child 15 years of age or older; it was knowingly and voluntarily generated by the child depicted; it was knowingly and voluntarily provided by that child; it portrays only one child other than the defendant; the defendant has not provided or made the depiction available to anyone except that child; and the defendant did not coerce the child into creating or sending it.

A separate defense at 28-1803(4) covers a defendant who was under 18 at the time of the offense. It requires the same voluntary-generation, voluntary-provision, single-child, no-onward-disclosure, and no-coercion elements, and adds that the age difference between the defendant and the child portrayed must be less than four years. These provisions address scenarios involving consensual sharing between peers close in age.

The operative date for LB 383 is January 1, 2026. Senator Tanya Storer introduced LB 383 at the request of the Governor, with Senators Prokop and Murman as co-introducers. Provisions of LB 172, a separate bill introduced by Senator Brian Hardin that specifically targeted AI-generated content, were amended into LB 383 during the session.

Nonconsensual Deepfake Intimate Images (LB 371)

Governor Pillen signed LB 371 on May 30, 2025, after the bill passed the legislature on a unanimous 49-0 vote. The law amends the Uniform Civil Remedies for Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act to cover images created by computer generation or digital manipulation.

Civil Liability Framework

LB 371 creates a civil cause of action for victims whose intimate images have been created or shared using AI or computer-generation technology without their consent. Under the law, a depicted individual may bring a civil lawsuit against anyone who creates, distributes, or publishes a computer-generated intimate image without the depicted person's authorization.

The law redefines key terms within the Disclosure of Intimate Images Act to ensure that AI-generated or digitally manipulated images receive the same legal treatment as real photographs or video. This means victims of deepfake intimate content can seek damages, injunctions, and other relief through civil court.

Connection to Federal Efforts

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has also taken an active role in combating deepfake nonconsensual intimate imagery at the national level. The AG joined multistate letters to search engines and payment platforms urging them to take stronger action against the distribution of deepfake intimate content on their platforms.

AI in Health Care: Prior Authorization Reform (LB 77)

One of Nebraska's most impactful AI-related laws addresses the health care industry. Governor Pillen signed LB 77, the Ensuring Transparency in Prior Authorization Act, on June 4, 2025. The law prohibits health insurers from using artificial intelligence as the sole basis for denying, delaying, or modifying health care services.

Key Requirements

LB 77 imposes several requirements on utilization review agents and health insurers operating in Nebraska:

Implementation Timeline

The Nebraska Department of Insurance was required to approve standardized prior authorization forms by November 1, 2025. These new forms took effect January 1, 2026, and apply to all fully insured health plans in Nebraska. Senator Eliot Bostar introduced LB 77.

State Government AI Policy (NITC 8-609)

The Nebraska Information Technology Commission (NITC) established Policy 8-609, an artificial intelligence policy governing the use of AI by state agencies. This policy sets guidelines for how Nebraska state government entities may adopt and use AI tools in their operations.

The NITC policy represents Nebraska's executive branch approach to AI governance. While it does not carry the force of legislation, it establishes standards and expectations for state agencies evaluating or deploying AI systems. The policy addresses issues including data security, transparency, and responsible use of AI tools by government employees.

2026 Session AI Legislation

Nebraska's 109th Legislature, Second Session (2026) took up several additional AI bills. One, the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act, was enacted. Two others, LB 1083 and the carryover LB 642, were indefinitely postponed on April 17, 2026, the day the session adjourned.

LB 1083: Transparency in Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act

Senator Tanya Storer introduced LB 1083, which would have required large frontier AI developers to create and publicly post risk management plans. The Nebraska Legislature indefinitely postponed LB 1083 on April 17, 2026, so it did not become law this session. The bill had targeted AI companies with annual revenue of $500 million or more (together with affiliates).

Under LB 1083 as introduced, covered developers would have needed to describe how they assess and reduce "catastrophic" risks, defined as risks that could contribute to the serious injury or death of more than 50 people or cause more than $1 billion in damage from a single incident. The bill would have required AI safety incidents be reported to the Nebraska Attorney General and would have authorized the AG to update key definitions over time.

The approach would have differed from California's vetoed SB 1047 in that it left technical decisions to developers while giving the state accountability tools if companies fell short of their own stated standards. No one testified in opposition during the committee hearing before it was postponed indefinitely.

LB 1185: Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act (Enacted via LB 525)

Senator Eliot Bostar introduced LB 1185, addressing AI chatbot safety with a particular focus on protecting minors. Its provisions were merged into LB 525, which the Governor approved on April 14, 2026, enacting the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act. Sections 12 through 18 of LB 525 become operative July 1, 2027. Once operative, the Act imposes several requirements on conversational AI providers:

• Disclosure when a user could reasonably believe they are interacting with a human
• Recurring AI disclaimers for minor account holders
• A ban on unpredictable engagement-based rewards for minors
• Measures to prevent sexually explicit or sexualizing content directed at minors
• For minor account holders, measures to prevent the service from claiming to be sentient or human, simulating emotional dependence, or simulating romantic or sexual innuendo
• A protocol to respond to prompts involving suicidal ideation or self-harm, including referral to crisis services
• A ban on AI services claiming to provide professional mental or behavioral health care

The Nebraska Attorney General has exclusive enforcement authority, with civil penalties of at least $1,000 and up to $500,000 per operator; the Act creates no private right of action.

LB 642: Artificial Intelligence Consumer Protection Act

Senator Bostar also introduced LB 642 during the 2025 session. This bill would establish comprehensive regulations for high-risk AI systems in Nebraska. If enacted, developers would need to use reasonable care to protect consumers from algorithmic discrimination and provide detailed documentation about their AI systems.

The bill defines "high-risk" AI systems as those that operate without human review and affect consequential decisions about individuals, including housing, employment, criminal justice, and health care. Deployers would need to implement risk management policies, complete impact assessments, and notify consumers when AI systems make consequential decisions affecting them.

LB 642 would have given exclusive enforcement authority to the Nebraska Attorney General, with a notice-and-cure process before formal action, and would not have created a private right of action. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee in January 2025 and heard on February 6, 2025, but never advanced out of committee. It carried over into the 2026 session and was indefinitely postponed on April 17, 2026, so it is dead in the 109th Legislature. Comprehensive AI regulation in Nebraska would now require a new bill in a future legislature.

Deepfakes in Elections

Nebraska has addressed the use of AI-generated deepfakes in elections through legislative proposals, though no comprehensive election deepfake law has been enacted.

LB 1203: AI in Political Advertisements

Senator John Cavanaugh introduced LB 1203 in the 108th Legislature during the 2024 session. The bill would have required political advertisements containing AI-generated content to disclose that information to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission (NADC).

The bill defined "materially deceptive media" as content created with AI that falsely depicts conduct or speech that did not occur, distributed with the intent to deceive voters. Such media would be prohibited within 90 days of an election unless it carried a disclaimer. Exemptions covered news broadcasts, satire, and parody.

However, the NADC testified that it could not administer or enforce the bill as written, stating it is not equipped to judge the truth or falsity of campaign claims. After a February 28, 2024 committee hearing, the Legislature indefinitely postponed LB 1203 on April 18, 2024. No successor bill has been enacted.

Federal AI Policy and Nebraska

Federal AI policy has a direct effect on Nebraska's regulatory landscape. President Trump's executive order on AI, issued in January 2025, revoked the Biden administration's 2023 AI executive order and emphasized a deregulatory approach favoring innovation over prescriptive rules.

Impact on State Regulation

Governor Pillen was among 17 Republican governors who signed a letter opposing a proposed congressional moratorium on state AI regulation. This indicates Nebraska's position that states should retain the ability to set their own AI policies rather than deferring entirely to federal standards.

The federal approach creates a patchwork dynamic where states like Nebraska fill regulatory gaps with their own legislation. Nebraska's targeted laws on deepfakes, health care AI, and child exploitation complement federal efforts without creating conflicts with current federal policy.

Federal Preemption Concerns

As Congress considers broader AI legislation, there is ongoing tension between federal preemption and state authority. Nebraska's existing AI laws in areas like health insurance regulation and criminal law are unlikely to face preemption challenges, as these fall within traditional areas of state authority. However, broader comprehensive AI regulation at the state level, such as the approach LB 642 would have taken, could face preemption questions if Congress passes a national AI framework.

Summary of Nebraska AI Laws

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