Gov. Mike Braun signed a new public access law into effect this week.
HEA1360 allows a public agency to discern whether an Access to Public Records Act, or APRA, request is coming from a human or an Artificial Intelligence program. The new law originated in Northeast Indiana
Allen County’s Director of Government Affairs John Wilson drafted the bill.
In a press release, the Allen County Commissioners praised Wilson’s work on the bill, saying there has been a growing trend in bulk public records requests over the past two years.
Many of those requests seem suspiciously non-human, and Wilson confirmed other counties experiencing similar requests.
The bill establishes a process to anticipate and deter so-called data scraping. It also allows government officials to prioritize legitimate records requests from residents and the media.
The bill goes into effect on July 1, after unanimously passing in both sides of the Indiana statehouse.
