WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE
How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: "BotBot"Bot", an automated online account wherein all or substantially all of the actions or posts of that account are not the result of a person including, but not limited to, a chatbot, artificial intelligence agent, avatar or other computer technology that engages in a textual or aural conversation.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 115(a)", an automated onlineOnline"Online", appearing on any public-facing Internet website, web application or digital application, including a social network or publication.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 115(a) account wherein all or substantially all of the actions or posts of that account are not the result of a person including, but not limited to, a chatbot, artificial intelligence agent, avatar or other computer technology that engages in a textual or aural conversation. "OnlineOnline"Online", appearing on any public-facing Internet website, web application or digital application, including a social network or publication.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 115(a)", appearing on any public-facing Internet website, web application or digital application, including a social network or publication.
(b) 1 It is hereby declared to be an unfair and deceptive act or practice in violation of section 2 of chapter 93A for any person to engage in a commercial transaction or trade practice with a consumer of any kind in which the consumer is communicating or otherwise interacting with a botBot"Bot", an automated online account wherein all or substantially all of the actions or posts of that account are not the result of a person including, but not limited to, a chatbot, artificial intelligence agent, avatar or other computer technology that engages in a textual or aural conversation.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 115(a) that may mislead or deceive a reasonable person to believe they are engaging with a human, regardless of whether such consumer is in fact misled, deceived or damaged thereby; provided, however, that a person utilizing or deploying a botBot"Bot", an automated online account wherein all or substantially all of the actions or posts of that account are not the result of a person including, but not limited to, a chatbot, artificial intelligence agent, avatar or other computer technology that engages in a textual or aural conversation.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 115(a) shall not be liable under this section if the consumer is notified in a clear and conspicuous fashion that they are communicating with a computer rather than a human being.
Section 115 is the sole operative section of the bill. Subsection (a) defines two terms — Bot and Online — that scope the bill's coverage. Subsection (b) creates the substantive obligation by declaring it a ch. 93A unfair and deceptive trade practice for any person to engage in a commercial transaction or trade practice with a consumer through a bot that may mislead a reasonable person into thinking they are engaging with a human. Liability attaches regardless of whether the consumer was actually misled or damaged.
The safe harbor in subsection (b)'s proviso exempts persons who notify the consumer in a clear and conspicuous fashion that they are communicating with a computer rather than a human being. This effectively transforms the provision from an absolute prohibition into a disclosure obligation: deploy a bot in commerce, disclose its non-human nature, or face 93A liability.