Utah's 2026 legislative session, which ended March 7, produced nine bills targeting artificial intelligence and digital technology. All nine now await action from Gov. Spencer Cox, whose signing deadline falls in late March.
The most visible measure is SB 69, a bell-to-bell ban on personal phone use in public schools sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore. The bill requires districts to enforce restrictions during instructional hours starting in the 2026–2027 school year, joining a growing list of states that have moved to limit student device access. A companion measure, HB 218, directs the state board of education to develop digital literacy and AI curricula for K–12 classrooms.
HB 273, the Balance Act, requires social media platforms to provide minors with options to limit algorithmic recommendations, disable autoplay, and restrict notifications during overnight hours. Violations carry penalties under the state's consumer protection statutes.
Two bills address AI-generated content used as weapons.
HB 276, the Digital Voyeurism Prevention Act, criminalizes the creation and distribution of nonconsensual deepfake intimate images. SB 256 extends existing defamation law to cover AI-generated false statements, establishing that the person who directs an AI system to produce defamatory content bears liability.
SB 319 requires health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to disclose when AI systems influence coverage decisions, prior authorizations, or claims processing.
SB 150 addresses professional licensing, directing the Division of Professional Licensing to study how AI tools interact with scope-of-practice rules across healthcare professions. HB 289 adds AI-generated child sexual abuse material to existing criminal statutes, closing what prosecutors described as a gap in current law. SB 73 strengthens age verification requirements for websites hosting content harmful to minors, building on a framework Utah first enacted in 2023.
