AI Accountability and Personal Data Protection Act

The AI Accountability and Personal Data Protection Act would create a new federal tort prohibiting the appropriation, use, collection, processing, sale, or other exploitation of an individual’s covered data without express, prior consent. It applies to data used or generated by or for artificial intelligence systems, including training data and outputs that imitate or are derived from an individual’s data. The bill authorizes private civil actions in federal or state courts, with remedies that can include actual or treble damages (or a minimum of $1,000 if actual damages are low), punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. It also bars predispute arbitration agreements and class-action waivers for claims under the act, and it imposes specific disclosure requirements for third-party data sharing. It is designed as a federal floor that does not preempt stronger state laws. In short, a person can sue organizations that misappropriate their data in the AI ecosystem (including training and generation of AI content) when there was no explicit prior consent, with broad remedies and strong protections against forced arbitration or waivers of group lawsuits. The bill sets minimum federal standards but allows state laws to offer greater protections.