New Jersey AI Laws: What's Enacted and What's Next (2027)

As of November 2026, New Jersey has no comprehensive AI statute that we found. Its main AI-related laws are the 2025 deepfake crimes act (P.L.2025, c.40, A3540/S2544) and a profiling opt-out in the New Jersey Data Privacy Act, and two acts signed in July 2026, the FAIR Act on algorithmic rent setting and the Fair Price Protection Act on individualized pricing, are reported to take effect in 2027.

How we searched: Statute quotes come from our stored copy of the New Jersey Statutes, captured August 1, 2026, which is a copy and not a check of current law. We searched it for "artificial intelligence", "automated decision", "algorithm", "machine learning", "chatbot" and "synthetic media". We also read the Governor's and Attorney General's sites, the State Library's copy of P.L.2025, c.40, and agency documents. We did not review the Legislature's bill pages or the 2026 session laws for this page, so 2026 bill numbers, chapter numbers, effective dates and pending-bill details below are as reported by law firm alerts and the press.

This page covers New Jersey state law as of November 4, 2026. It is general legal information, not legal advice. For the national picture, see our guide to US AI laws.

New Jersey AI Laws at a Glance

P.L.2025, c.40: New Jersey's Deepfake Law (A3540/S2544)

N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17.8 makes it a third-degree crime for a natural person, without license or privilege, to generate or create a work of deceptive audio or visual media, or to solicit, disclose or use one, for the purpose of attempting or furthering a crime or offense, or knowing it is to be used by another for that purpose. Knowingly or recklessly disclosing a work created in violation of the law is a fourth-degree crime, subject to the exceptions in subsection g.

The act allows a fine of up to $30,000. A victim may sue for actual damages, "but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $1,000 for each knowing or reckless violation," with no conviction required. The act excludes satire, parody, news reporting and similar content, and it does not apply to a commercial developer or provider of AI technology that is not deemed a publisher, speaker or information content provider under 47 U.S.C. 230.

Our guide to New Jersey deepfake laws has the detail. The definition of deceptive media does not use the word AI. It turns on media whose production was "substantially dependent upon technical means."

FAIR Act: New Jersey's Algorithmic Rent Law

The Governor's release, dated July 20, 2026, says the Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent Act "regulates the use of algorithmic rent-setting systems to prevent landlords from using these algorithms to coordinate rental prices or occupancy levels." The release gives no bill number, effective date or penalty.

Law firm alerts report the rest, and we did not read the enacted text. They identify it as P.L.2026, c.43 (A3497/S451) and say it takes effect July 1, 2027. They describe a bar on owners using algorithmic revenue management software that processes competitors' nonpublic leasing information to set or recommend rents, and on coordinators using such software to facilitate agreements among competing landlords. They also report an attorney general complaint portal and treatment of the conduct as a New Jersey Antitrust Act violation.

Those alerts list exclusions for human-analyzed spreadsheets, publicly available rent estimation tools, traditional listing databases and government-administered affordable housing programs.

Fair Price Protection Act: New Jersey's Surveillance Pricing Law

The Governor's release, dated July 23, 2026, says the act "prohibits retailers from using personal data to set individualized prices on groceries and other necessities." It describes pricing based on what an algorithm predicts a shopper is willing or able to pay. The release says the act does not ban loyalty programs or discounts, and it places a one-year moratorium on the new use of electronic shelf labels. It does not require stores to stop using, repairing or replacing existing labels.

Law firm alerts report the act as P.L.2026, c.55 (A4085/A4523), with the pricing ban starting August 1, 2027 and the shelf label moratorium starting February 1, 2027. They report that violations fall under the Consumer Fraud Act, whose penalty section, N.J.S.A. 56:8-13, sets up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for each later offense.

Those alerts also report that aggrieved consumers may sue under the Consumer Fraud Act, including for treble damages, and one reports that class actions are available. The Consumer Fraud Act's private suit section, N.J.S.A. 56:8-19, covers a person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property, and it says the court "shall" award threefold damages, plus attorneys' fees and costs. That section's text does not mention willfulness, though one alert says treble damages require it. We did not read the enacted text.

New Jersey Data Privacy Act: The Profiling Opt-Out

The Data Privacy Act (P.L.2023, c.266) is not an AI law, but it reaches automated decisions. It defines profiling as "any form of automated processing performed on personal data to evaluate, analyze, or predict personal aspects" of an identified or identifiable individual.

A consumer may opt out of profiling "in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning the consumer." Those are decisions on financial or lending services, housing, insurance, education, criminal justice, employment opportunities, health care services, or access to essential goods and services. Controllers must conduct a data protection assessment for processing that presents a heightened risk of harm.

Who is outside it. The act applies only to controllers that do business in the state or target its residents and control or process data of at least 100,000 consumers, or at least 25,000 consumers with revenue or discounts from selling personal data. A "consumer" excludes a person acting in a commercial or employment context. N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.13 exempts, among others, HIPAA protected health information, financial institutions subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and insurance institutions subject to P.L.1985, c.179.

Enforcement. The Attorney General has "sole and exclusive authority to enforce," and the act provides no private right of action. The state proposed rules on June 2, 2025, with comments due August 1, 2025. We did not confirm that proposal's current status.

AI in Hiring: New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination

New Jersey applies existing anti-discrimination law to automated tools by rule. N.J.A.C. 13:16, effective December 15, 2025, addresses disparate impact, and 13:16-3.2(c) lists automated employment decision tool examples. A tool that screens on schedule "must include a mechanism for applicants to request a reasonable accommodation."

The Division says the rules "do not indicate that the use of either word-of-mouth recruitment or automated employment decision tools is per se discriminatory" and that "the inclusion of these examples does not create any new liability or burdens for businesses."

The Attorney General and Division on Civil Rights issued separate guidance in January 2025. It says a covered entity can violate the Law Against Discrimination "even if it has no intent to discriminate, and even if a third-party was responsible for developing" the tool. The guidance also says it "does not impose any new or additional requirements."

Regulators and State Government Use of AI in New Jersey

Insurers. Bulletin No. 25-03 from the Department of Banking and Insurance goes to all insurers authorized or admitted in New Jersey. It reminds them that decisions made or supported by AI systems "must comply with all applicable insurance laws and regulations." The NAIC's status list, dated November 3, 2026, dates it February 11, 2025. It is a statement of expectations under existing law, not a new law.

State government. Governor Murphy's Executive Order 346 established an Artificial Intelligence Task Force in October 2023. N.J.S.A. 52:18A-230 directs the Chief Technology Officer to evaluate annually the feasibility of using AI, machine learning and cloud services by state agencies.

Incentives. N.J.S.A. 34:1B-397 sets tax credit eligibility for businesses primarily engaged in the AI or large-scale AI data center industry, before March 1, 2029, with a $100,000,000 minimum capital investment and 100 new full-time jobs.

AI Note-Takers and Recording in New Jersey

AI meeting assistants raise recording consent questions. Our guide to New Jersey AI meeting recording laws covers them.

What We Did Not Find in New Jersey Law

In our stored copy, captured August 1, 2026, we found no New Jersey statute specifically on AI in hiring, AI in health care, companion chatbots, frontier models or general AI disclosure. That copy may predate later acts, and it is not a search of bills or session laws, so this is a statement about one search, not a statement that no such law exists.

New Jersey is not named among the states in the October 14, 2026 OpenAI suit releases described on our national guide. We did not find a New Jersey Attorney General release on such a suit, and we did not search that office's full release list.

Federal Law and New Jersey's AI Laws

As of November 4, 2026, we found no federal statute in the public laws of the 119th Congress that sets general rules for private AI systems or generally preempts state AI laws. In December 2025, Executive Order 14365 directed federal agencies to challenge or discourage state AI laws the administration views as conflicting with national policy, and called for a federal framework from Congress. The order itself does not declare any state law invalid. See our pages on the AI executive orders and state AI law preemption.

What Changes in New Jersey AI Law in 2027

These dates come from law firm alerts, not the enacted text. Check the acts themselves before relying on them.

Pending bills. Law firm alerts, trackers and the press list New Jersey AI bills, including A4730 (generative AI consumer disclosure), A4731 (generative AI use by licensed professionals), S735/A799 (AI advertised as a licensed mental health professional) and S1840. As of November 4, 2026, we had not confirmed the status of any of them on the Legislature's bill pages. A bill is not a law, and earlier bills A5603 and S1438 are reported as 2024-25 session bills that were not enacted.

More New Jersey Laws

Explore other New Jersey law topics on Recording Law:

• New Jersey Recording Laws
• New Jersey Data Privacy Laws
• New Jersey Whistleblower Laws
• New Jersey Background Check Laws
• New Jersey Sexting Laws
• New Jersey Deepfake Laws
• New Jersey AI Meeting Recording Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Jersey have an AI law?

New Jersey has no comprehensive AI statute that we found. It has a deepfake crimes act, P.L.2025, c.40, a profiling opt-out in its Data Privacy Act, rules applying its Law Against Discrimination to automated employment tools, and two acts signed in July 2026 on algorithmic rent setting and individualized pricing.

Is algorithmic rent setting illegal in New Jersey?

Governor Sherrill signed the FAIR Act on July 20, 2026, and her office says it regulates algorithmic rent-setting systems to prevent landlords from using them to coordinate rental prices or occupancy levels. Law firm alerts report it takes effect July 1, 2027, so as of November 4, 2026 we treat it as scheduled.

Did New Jersey ban surveillance pricing?

The Fair Price Protection Act, signed July 23, 2026, prohibits retailers from using personal data to set individualized prices on groceries and other necessities, according to the Governor's office. It does not ban loyalty programs or discounts. Law firm alerts report the ban starts August 1, 2027.

Can New Jersey employers use AI in hiring?

No New Jersey statute we found bans it. The Division on Civil Rights' rules at N.J.A.C. 13:16 list automated employment decision tools as examples under disparate impact rules, and the Division says such tools are not per se discriminatory. January 2025 guidance says a covered entity can violate the Law Against Discrimination without intent and even if a third party developed the tool.

What is the penalty for a deepfake in New Jersey?

Under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17.8, creating, soliciting, disclosing or using deceptive audio or visual media without license or privilege to attempt or further a crime or offense is a third-degree crime, and knowingly or recklessly disclosing a work created in violation of the law is a fourth-degree crime. A fine of up to $30,000 may be imposed, and a victim may sue for actual damages of at least $1,000 for each knowing or reckless violation.

Does New Jersey's deepfake law apply to AI companies?

Subsection g. says the act does not apply to an interactive computer service provider, cloud services provider, or commercial developer or provider of AI technology where that developer or provider is not deemed a publisher, speaker or information content provider under 47 U.S.C. 230.

Can I opt out of AI profiling in New Jersey?

A New Jersey consumer may opt out of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects, under the Data Privacy Act. The act covers only controllers that meet its thresholds, excludes people acting in a commercial or employment context, and exempts certain data and institutions. Only the Attorney General enforces it.