Provides for a standard of care in certain activities related to software and computer programs

This bill enacts a new Civil Code article establishing a legal duty of reasonable care for persons involved in creating, developing, licensing, manufacturing, or selling computer programs and software that provide interactive or personalized user experiences based on user data or information. The statute creates a straightforward negligence standard applicable to these software activities, imposing an affirmative duty to exercise reasonable care throughout the design, development, licensing, manufacture, and sale phases. The revision comments clarify that this new duty does not displace existing causes of action or liability theories under the Louisiana Civil Code or other applicable law, including the Louisiana Products Liability Act.

The practical effect of this legislation falls on software developers, technology companies, data analytics firms, and any commercial entities that design or distribute computer programs utilizing user data to personalize experiences. These parties will face potential liability for negligent conduct in creating or deploying such software, meaning they must implement reasonable safeguards, testing procedures, and quality controls to protect against foreseeable harms. Users of such software gain a legal basis to recover damages if they suffer injury resulting from negligent design, development, or distribution of personalized software applications. Businesses operating in the technology sector will need to review their development practices, documentation, and risk management procedures to ensure compliance with this reasonable care standard.

This statute operates within Louisiana's broader tort and products liability framework established by the Civil Code and the Louisiana Products Liability Act. The new article fits alongside existing negligence principles found in Civil Code Article 2315, which generally imposes liability for damage caused by one's own fault or negligence, and does not replace or limit the availability of products liability claims under the comprehensive statutory scheme of R.S. 9:2800.51 et seq. The legislation targets a specific category of products—personalized software relying on user data—and establishes an explicit duty of care as a matter of statutory law, grounding liability in negligence principles rather than creating strict liability or departing from Louisiana's traditional fault-based civil law system.