Requires advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer; imposes a $1,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $5,000 penalty for any subsequent violation.
Summary
This bill amends New York’s General Business Law to require certain commercial advertisements to conspicuously disclose when a “synthetic performer” is used. The bill defines artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence, and synthetic performer, with the latter covering digitally created or modified assets made with AI or software algorithms that are intended to look or sound like a human performance by a non-identifiable natural performer.
The disclosure requirement applies to persons engaged in the business of dealing in property or services who place advertisements for commercial purposes in any medium. If the advertiser has actual knowledge that a synthetic performer appears in the ad, the ad must clearly disclose that fact. The bill establishes civil penalties of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each subsequent violation. It also includes a severability clause and states that it does not alter existing rights under the Civil Rights Law or affect federal Communications Decency Act protections under 47 U.S.C. § 230.
Impact
The bill would add a new consumer-protection disclosure obligation to New York’s advertising law, specifically targeting AI-generated or digitally synthesized performers in commercial ads. It would create a statutory standard for identifying synthetic performers and impose monetary penalties for noncompliance, thereby affecting advertisers, agencies, publishers, broadcasters, and other businesses that disseminate commercial advertising in the state. The measure is designed to increase transparency for consumers and to regulate the use of generative AI in marketing without changing existing publicity-rights law or federal platform immunity.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong support in committee, with unanimous favorable votes in both the Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee and the Assembly Codes Committee. That suggests the bill was viewed positively by legislators reviewing it, likely as a transparency and consumer-protection measure. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor or hearing debate to indicate broader opposition or support beyond the committee votes.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are the scope of the disclosure duty and the knowledge standard. The bill requires disclosure only when the advertiser has “actual knowledge” that a synthetic performer is used, which may limit enforcement but also raises questions about how much diligence advertisers must perform. Another possible issue is the breadth of the definition of synthetic performer and whether it could capture a wide range of AI-assisted creative content. The bill’s express preservation of Civil Rights Law rights and Section 230 protections suggests lawmakers were attentive to concerns about overlap with existing publicity, free-expression, and online-platform rules.
Same As
Requires advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer; imposes a $1,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $5,000 penalty for any subsequent violation.
Requires advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer; imposes a $1,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $5,000 penalty for any subsequent violation.
Requires advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer; imposes a $1,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $5,000 penalty for any subsequent violation.
Requires advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer; imposes a $1,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $5,000 penalty for any subsequent violation.
Requires advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer; imposes a $1,000 civil penalty for a first violation and a $5,000 penalty for any subsequent violation.
Campaign finance and public disclosure board required to impose fees and civil penalties for various violations, fees and civil penalties allowed to be waived for good cause only in certain circumstances, and annual report required.