Louisiana’s HB 190 is an overly broad software liability bill that, while framed as a “reasonable care” standard, creates sweeping new legal exposure for any developer whose software provides a personalized or interactive user experience — potentially capturing everything from AI tools to hobbyist apps.
NetChoice Testimony in Opposition to Louisiana HB 190
April 28, 2026
Louisiana General Assembly
Senate Judiciary A Committee
Dear Chair Miller, Vice-Chair Luneau and Members of the Committee:
NetChoice respectfully asks that you oppose HB 190. While we recognize that the sponsor seeks to address legitimate concerns about technology development, HB 190 would actually undermine responsible technology development and create perverse incentives that harm the very goals the Legislature seeks to achieve.
HB 190 Creates Undefined Liability
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of HB 190 is that it delegates critical legal definitions to the courts. The bill requires software developers to exercise “reasonable care,” but provides no definition of what that means. It does not specify what conduct constitutes a breach of duty, what damages might apply or even when liability exists. These determinations are intentionally left for courts to make through litigation.
This is not a minor drafting oversight. The bill’s architects have explicitly acknowledged that key terms will be worked out in court, treating legal uncertainty as a feature rather than a flaw. This approach asks judges to finish writing the law after it passes—a practice the Legislature regularly criticizes.
Companies cannot comply with a legal standard that does not exist until a judge creates it through a lawsuit. A Louisiana tech startup developing a personalized health platform, a civic transparency tool or a recommendation engine faces undefined liability with no roadmap for compliance. The rational response from companies facing this uncertainty is predictable: relocate operations to states with clearer standards, simplify services to reduce liability exposure or abandon personalized software development entirely. None of these outcomes serve the Legislature’s stated goals.
HB 190 Would Escalate Litigation Costs and Create Unmanageable Risk
Louisiana already faces a reputation for litigation costs and judicial unpredictability that keeps businesses and investment away. HB 190 would make this problem significantly worse by creating a new pathway for litigation against any software developer.
Under this bill, even weak or frivolous claims are devastating. A plaintiff does not need to win—they only need to force you into court. Even if your terms of service ultimately protect you, you must still hire attorneys, respond to discovery and defend yourself through costly legal processes. That burden alone can cripple a startup or small company. For a large corporation with substantial legal resources, defending multiple simultaneous lawsuits is manageable. For a startup, it is catastrophic.
The financial damage extends well beyond individual lawsuits. HB 190 creates broad new liability exposure, which will inevitably increase insurance premiums for any software developer operating in Louisiana. These higher premiums directly increase the cost of doing business and make Louisiana a less attractive location for technology operations. The burden falls hardest on small and mid-sized companies, which lack the scale to absorb rising insurance costs the way multinational corporations can.
This creates a perverse incentive structure. The Legislature has spent years trying to reduce insurance costs and improve Louisiana’s business climate. HB 190 moves in the opposite direction—introducing vague liability exposure without any compliance standard that would allow companies to manage or mitigate their risk. Companies cannot reduce their insurance exposure by adopting better practices or industry standards because the bill defines neither. As a result, HB 190 will drive up the cost of developing software in Louisiana while simultaneously driving out the very companies and investment the state is trying to attract.
HB 190 Contradicts Louisiana’s Technology Investment Strategy
At the same time the state promotes major technology investments through incentive programs and tax rebates, this bill introduces new litigation risk that discourages the very sector the state is trying to attract.
Small and mid-sized Louisiana software companies will face the same undefined liability exposure as multinational corporations, but without the legal resources to defend themselves. This asymmetry will accelerate the exodus of tech talent and investment from the state. Companies considering Louisiana as a place to develop personalized software, AI systems or recommendation engines will instead look to states with clearer legal standards and lower litigation risk.
Again, we respectfully ask you to oppose HB 190. As always, we offer ourselves as a resource to discuss any of these issues with you in further detail, and we appreciate the opportunity to provide the committee with our thoughts on this important matter.
Sincerely,
Amy Bos
Vice President of Government Affairs, NetChoice (The views of NetChoice expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of all NetChoice members.)