WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 6 REQUIREMENT TYPES
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.
(1)–(5) As used in this chapter: (1) "ConsumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1)" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5). (2) "Dark patternDark pattern"Dark pattern" means a user interface designed or manipulated with the substantial effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice and includes any practice the Federal Trade Commission refers to as a "dark pattern."9 V.S.A. § 4193a(2)" means a user interface designed or manipulated with the substantial effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice and includes any practice the Federal Trade Commission refers to as a "dark patternDark pattern"Dark pattern" means a user interface designed or manipulated with the substantial effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice and includes any practice the Federal Trade Commission refers to as a "dark pattern."9 V.S.A. § 4193a(2)." (3) "Personal identifying informationPersonal identifying information"Personal identifying information" means any information, including sensitive information, that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable consumer. The term does not include deidentified information or publicly available information of a consumer.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(3)" means any information, including sensitive information, that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1). The term does not include deidentified information or publicly available information of a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1). (4) "Provider of a social media platformProvider of a social media platform"Provider of a social media platform" and "provider" means a person that operates a social media platform that is used by consumers.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(4)" and "provider" means a person that operates a social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5) that is used by consumersConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1). (5) "Social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5)" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.
This section establishes the defined terms for Chapter 118 governing social media platforms. The definitions are broadly drawn: the social media platform definition covers any website, app, or internet medium that enables user account creation and user-generated content sharing, and provider is any person operating such a platform used by Vermont consumers — with no size, revenue, or user-count threshold.
(a)(1)–(4) 1 Annually, on or before January 31 following a year in which a person meets the definition of a provider of a social media platformProvider of a social media platform"Provider of a social media platform" and "provider" means a person that operates a social media platform that is used by consumers.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(4) as defined in section 4193a of this chapter, a person shall: (1) register with the Secretary of State; (2) pay a registration fee of $100.00; (3) provide the following information during registration: (A) the name and primary physical, email, and internet addresses of the person; and (B) the most recent version of the privacy policy and terms and conditions in use by the social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5); and (4) agree to the product safety and privacy terms as set forth in section 4193c of this chapter and by those set by the Attorney General through the Attorney General's rulemaking authority pursuant to this chapter.
(b)–(c) A provider that fails to register and provide all required information pursuant to subsection (a) of this section: (1) is liable to the State for: (A) a civil penalty of $50.00 for each day, not to exceed a total of $10,000.00 for each year, it fails to register pursuant to this section; (B) an amount equal to the fees due under this section during the period it failed to register pursuant to this section; and (C) other penalties imposed by law; and (2) does not otherwise limit the provider's responsibility to comply with the provisions required of providers set forth in this chapter. (c) The Attorney General may maintain an action in the Civil Division of the Superior Court to collect the penalties imposed in this section and to seek appropriate injunctive relief.
This section requires providers of social media platforms to register annually with the Vermont Secretary of State by January 31, pay a $100 fee, submit contact and policy information, and agree to the product safety and privacy terms set forth in § 4193c and any additional terms the Attorney General adopts by rule. The registration obligation is a pre-condition to lawful operation — failure to register triggers per-day civil penalties capped at $10,000 per year, but non-registration does not excuse a provider from the substantive safety and privacy obligations in the chapter.
(a)(1) 2 Not use any design feature on a social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5) that the provider knew, or by the exercise of reasonable care should have known, is harmful to minors, including the encouragement of excessive or compulsive use of a social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5) by a minor.
(a)(2) 3 Configure all default privacy settings for minors to a high level of privacy.
(a)(3) 3 Not permit, by default, an unknown adult to contact a minor on its platform without the minor first initiating that contact.
(a)(4) 4 Not, in its operation, discriminate against a minor based upon the minor's race, ethnicity, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.
(a)(5) 5 Not use dark patternsDark pattern"Dark pattern" means a user interface designed or manipulated with the substantial effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice and includes any practice the Federal Trade Commission refers to as a "dark pattern."9 V.S.A. § 4193a(2).
(a)(6)–(6)(A) 6 Use reasonable care to avoid any heightened risk of harm to a minor caused by processing of personal data in the course of providing the social media platformSocial media platform"Social media platform" means a website, mobile application, or internet medium that: (A) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile; (B) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and (C) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(5) to minors. (A) As used in this subdivision (6), "heightened risk of harm to a minor" means processing the personal data of a minor in a manner that presents a reasonably foreseeable risk of: (i) unfair or deceptive treatment of, or unlawful disparate impact on, a minor; (ii) financial, physical, or reputational injury to a minor; (iii) unintended disclosure of the personal data of a minor; or (iv) any physical or other intrusion upon the solitude or seclusion, or the private affairs or concerns, of a minor if the intrusion would be offensive to a reasonable person.
(a)(7) 7 Limit the use of a minor's personal identifying informationPersonal identifying information"Personal identifying information" means any information, including sensitive information, that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable consumer. The term does not include deidentified information or publicly available information of a consumer.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(3) to the purpose for which the information was collected.
(a)(8) 8 Not process the personal data of a minor for the purposes of targeted advertising or sell the personal data of a minor.
(b) Any intentional violation of this section by a provider of a social media platformProvider of a social media platform"Provider of a social media platform" and "provider" means a person that operates a social media platform that is used by consumers.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(4) shall be considered be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title.
This section imposes the core minor-protection obligations on social media platform providers. The obligations are triggered when the provider knows or by the exercise of reasonable care should have known that a consumer is a minor. Requirements include prohibiting harmful design features (including features encouraging compulsive use), configuring default privacy settings to a high level, blocking unsolicited adult-to-minor contact, prohibiting discrimination against minors on protected-class grounds, banning dark patterns, requiring reasonable care to avoid heightened data-processing risks to minors, limiting use of minor personal identifying information to the purpose for which it was collected, and prohibiting targeted advertising to minors and sale of minor data.
Intentional violations are deemed unfair or deceptive acts under 9 V.S.A. § 2453, which is the Vermont Consumer Protection Act enforcement hook.
In addition to the rules otherwise required by this chapter, the Attorney General may adopt any other rule the Attorney General deems necessary to implement the purpose and policies of this chapter.
This section grants the Attorney General rulemaking authority to adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 118. It creates no standalone compliance obligation for providers.
(1)–(4) As used in this chapter: (1) "Algorithmic discriminationAlgorithmic discrimination"Algorithmic discrimination" means any condition in which the use of an artificial intelligence system results in an unlawful differential treatment or impact that disfavors an individual on the basis of the individual's actual or perceived age, color, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, limited proficiency in the English language, national origin, race, religion, reproductive health, sex, veteran status, or other classification protected under the laws of this State or federal law.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(1)" means any condition in which the use of an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2) results in an unlawful differential treatment or impact that disfavors an individual on the basis of the individual's actual or perceived age, color, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, limited proficiency in the English language, national origin, race, religion, reproductive health, sex, veteran status, or other classification protected under the laws of this State or federal law. (2) "Artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2)" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments. (3) "ConsumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1)" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2). (4) "Provider of an artificial intelligence systemProvider of an artificial intelligence system"Provider of an artificial intelligence system" and "provider" means a person that operates an artificial intelligence system that is used by consumers.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(4)" and "provider" means a person that operates an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2) that is used by consumersConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1).
This section establishes the defined terms for Chapter 119 governing artificial intelligence systems. The artificial intelligence system definition is extremely broad — it covers any machine-based system that infers from inputs how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments, with no threshold for risk level, compute, or use case. Provider is any person operating such a system used by Vermont consumers. Algorithmic discrimination is defined by reference to protected characteristics under Vermont and federal law.
(a)(1)–(3) 9 Annually, on or before January 31 following a year in which a person meets the definition of a provider of an artificial intelligence systemProvider of an artificial intelligence system"Provider of an artificial intelligence system" and "provider" means a person that operates an artificial intelligence system that is used by consumers.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(4) as defined in section 4194a of this chapter, a person shall: (1) register with the Secretary of State; (2) pay a registration fee of $100.00; and (3) provide the following information: (A) the name and primary physical, email, and internet addresses of the person; (B) the most recent version of the privacy policy and terms and conditions in use by the artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2); and (C) the data collection, storage, and security practices of the artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2);
(a)(4) 10 provide a description of the artificial intelligence model, including its capacity, training data, intended use, design process and methodologies;
(a)(5) 9 agree to the product safety and privacy terms as set forth in section 4194c of this chapter and by those set by the Attorney General through the Attorney General's rulemaking authority pursuant to this chapter.
(b)–(c) A provider that fails to register and provide all required information pursuant to subsection (a) of this section: (1) is liable to the State for: (A) a civil penalty of $50.00 for each day, not to exceed a total of $10,000.00 for each year, it fails to register pursuant to this section; (B) an amount equal to the fees due under this section during the period it failed to register pursuant to this section; and (C) other penalties imposed by law; and (2) does not otherwise limit the provider's responsibility to comply with the provisions required of providers set forth in this chapter. (c) The Attorney General may maintain an action in the Civil Division of the Superior Court to collect the penalties imposed in this section and to seek appropriate injunctive relief.
This section requires providers of AI systems to register annually with the Vermont Secretary of State by January 31, pay a $100 fee, and submit extensive information including contact details, current privacy policies and terms of service, data collection/storage/security practices, and a description of the AI model covering its capacity, training data, intended use, design process, and methodologies. The provider must also agree to the product safety and privacy terms in § 4194c and any AG-adopted rules. Failure to register triggers per-day civil penalties capped at $10,000 per year.
The AI registration regime is notably more demanding than the social media platform registration — it requires disclosure of data practices and model characteristics, approaching a model-card requirement.
(a)(1) 11 exercise reasonable care to protect consumersConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1) from any known or foreseeable risks of algorithmic discriminationAlgorithmic discrimination"Algorithmic discrimination" means any condition in which the use of an artificial intelligence system results in an unlawful differential treatment or impact that disfavors an individual on the basis of the individual's actual or perceived age, color, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, limited proficiency in the English language, national origin, race, religion, reproductive health, sex, veteran status, or other classification protected under the laws of this State or federal law.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(1) arising from the intended and contracted uses of the system;
(a)(2) 12 clearly and conspicuously disclose to a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1) using an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2) that the consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1) is interacting with an artificial intelligence systemArtificial intelligence system"Artificial intelligence system" and "system" means any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs, including content, decisions, predictions, or recommendations, that can influence physical or virtual environments.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(2);
(a)(3) 13 obtain informed consent from a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1) before collecting or using a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1)'s data;
(a)(4) 14 obtain, separate from the informed consent set forth in subdivision (3) of this subsection, informed consent from a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1) before sharing or selling a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1)'s data;
(a)(5) 15 implement reasonable security measures to protect the data of a consumerConsumer"Consumer" means an individual who is a resident of the State and who uses a provider's social media platform.9 V.S.A. § 4193a(1) used to train the model.
(b) Any intentional violation of this section by a provider of an artificial intelligence systemProvider of an artificial intelligence system"Provider of an artificial intelligence system" and "provider" means a person that operates an artificial intelligence system that is used by consumers.9 V.S.A. § 4194a(4) shall be considered be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title.
This section imposes the core product safety and privacy obligations on all AI system providers. The obligations are not minor-specific — they apply to all consumer-facing AI. Providers must (1) exercise reasonable care to protect consumers from algorithmic discrimination, (2) clearly and conspicuously disclose to consumers that they are interacting with an AI system, (3) obtain informed consent before collecting or using consumer data, (4) obtain separate informed consent before sharing or selling consumer data, and (5) implement reasonable security measures for consumer data used to train the model.
Intentional violations are deemed unfair or deceptive acts under 9 V.S.A. § 2453. The AI identity disclosure is unconditional — no reasonable-person trigger — making it among the broadest AI-disclosure mandates in the U.S.
In addition to the rules otherwise required by this chapter, the Attorney General may adopt any other rule the Attorney General deems necessary to implement the purpose and policies of this chapter.
This section grants the Attorney General rulemaking authority to adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 119. It creates no standalone compliance obligation for providers.
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
The act takes effect on July 1, 2025.