- New York enacted the first U.S. law requiring disclosure when synthetic AI performers are used in advertisements.
- The state also banned using deceased performers’ digital likenesses without permission from their estates.
- President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to challenge state AI laws and threatening to withhold federal broadband funds from states with strict AI rules.
- The new New York laws were supported by the SAG-AFTRA union, following their 2023 strike settlement that included AI use provisions.
New York has passed legislation mandating that advertisers clearly disclose when Artificial Intelligence-generated performers appear in commercials. On the same day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order warning states against imposing what his administration calls “onerous” AI regulations.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills supported by SAG-AFTRA. The first requires advertisers to “conspicuously disclose” the use of synthetic AI actors, while the second prohibits creating digital replicas of deceased performers without consent from their estates. Details of the laws are available in the text of the bills S.8420-A/A.8887-B and S.8391/A.8882.
“By signing these bills today, we are enacting common-sense laws that will ensure we are fully transparent when using images generated by artificial intelligence,” Governor Hochul stated. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland credited collaboration among artists, lawmakers, and advocates for addressing risks from unchecked AI use, as mentioned in a union statement.
The union’s push for AI protections follows its November 2023 strike settlement with Hollywood studios, which included over $1 billion in provisions related to consent and compensation for AI use. SAG-AFTRA also helped pass similar legislation in California in 2024 and supports the federal No Fakes Act, a bipartisan bill to protect individuals from unauthorized digital replicas.
Meanwhile, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Justice to challenge state AI laws based on federal preemption. The order also threatens to withhold funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a multi-billion-dollar initiative for high-speed internet expansion, from states with strict AI regulations. Trump emphasized the need for a national standard to avoid a patchwork of state laws.
Himanshu Tyagi, professor at the Indian Institute of Science and co-founder of AI startup Sentient, told Decrypt that removing a person’s likeness from AI models is “extremely difficult” once training systems exist. He noted that companies like Adobe train models solely on licensed data. Tyagi added, “deepfake content will continue to circulate on social media and other lightly regulated channels,” but new laws may make major advertisers more cautious about AI-generated content.
“We should get ready for the next evolution of post-truth where you can’t trust your eyes or ears when dealing with digital content,” he stated.
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