New York S8420 (Disclosure of Synthetic Performers)

Summary

Amends the general business law to require disclosures in advertisements featuring synthetic performers.

Defines "artificial intelligence," "generative artificial intelligence," and "synthetic performer."

Requires any person creating an advertisement for commercial purposes to disclose conspicuously the inclusion of a synthetic performer if there is actual knowledge of such use.

Imposes a civil penalty of $1,000 for the first violation and $5,000 for subsequent violations.

Exempts advertisements for expressive works, such as motion pictures and television programs, when the use of synthetic performers is consistent with their use in the work.

Excludes audio advertisements and those involving AI use for language translation of a human performer from these requirements.

Clarifies the act does not affect rights under specified civil rights laws or protections under 47 U.S.C. § 230 related to interactive computer services.

Specifies the act takes effect 180 days after becoming law.

Requires advertisements to disclose the use of synthetic performers.

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Defines "artificial intelligence" and related terms, including "generative artificial intelligence" and "synthetic performer."

Section 1. Section 396-b of the general business law, as added by chapter 1031 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows: § 396-b. Advertisements. 1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS: (A) "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE", "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY", OR "AI" MEANS A MACHINE-BASED SYSTEM THAT CAN, FOR A GIVEN SET OF HUMAN-DEFINED OBJECTIVES, MAKE PREDICTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, OR DECISIONS INFLUENCING REAL OR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, AND THAT USES MACHINE- AND HUMAN-BASED INPUTS TO PERCEIVE REAL AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, ABSTRACT SUCH PERCEPTIONS INTO MODELS THROUGH ANALYSIS IN AN AUTOMATED MANNER, AND USE MODEL INFERENCE TO FORMULATE OPTIONS FOR INFORMATION OR ACTION. THIS DEFINITION INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO SYSTEMS THAT USE MACHINE LEARNING, LARGE LANGUAGE MODEL, NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING, AND COMPUTER VISION TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

(B) "GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" MEANS A CLASS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODELS THAT ARE SELF-SUPERVISED AND EMULATE THE STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF INPUT DATA TO GENERATE DERIVED SYNTHETIC CONTENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMAGES, VIDEOS, AUDIO, TEXT, AND OTHER DIGITAL CONTENT.

(C) "SYNTHETIC PERFORMER" MEANS A DIGITALLY CREATED ASSET CREATED, REPRODUCED, OR MODIFIED BY COMPUTER, USING GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR A SOFTWARE ALGORITHM, THAT IS INTENDED TO CREATE THE IMPRESSION THAT THE ASSET IS ENGAGING IN AN AUDIOVISUAL AND/OR VISUAL PERFORMANCE OF A HUMAN PERFORMER WHO IS NOT RECOGNIZABLE AS ANY IDENTIFIABLE NATURAL PERFORMER.

Requires advertisers to disclose true identity and avoid false statements in property-related advertisements.

2. Any person, firm, corporation or association, or agent or employee thereof, hereinafter called person, who, being engaged in the business of dealing in any property, makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates or places before the public or causes, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated or placed before the public, in this state, any advertisement respecting any such property, in any newspaper, magazine, or other publication, or over any radio station or television station, unless it is stated in any such advertisement that the advertiser is a dealer in such property or from the context of any such advertisement, it plainly appears that such person is a dealer in such property so offered for sale in any such advertisement; or when placing or causing any such advertisement to appear in any newspaper, magazine or other publication or radio or television station as described in this section, if requested by the publisher of any such newspaper, magazine or other publication or owner or operator of such radio or television station or any agent or representative thereof to file with such owner or operator, publisher, agent or representative thereof SUCH PERSON'S true name, or where SUCH PERSON is transacting business under a name other than the true name pursuant to law, then the name under which such business is transacted, and each business address wherein any business is transacted by SUCH PERSON, in the class of property advertised or to be advertised for sale in such advertisement, shall make any false statement in relation to any of such items; or if requested by the publisher of any such newspaper, magazine or other publication or owner or operator of such radio or television station or any agent or representative thereof to file with such owner, operator, publisher, agent or representative thereof a statement showing whether SUCH PERSON is causing such advertisement to appear or is offering to make such sale or disposition or trans- action, as herein set forth, as principal or agent, and if as agent, to set forth such information as is specified in this section, in relation to SUCH PERSON'S principal as well as in relation to SUCH PERSON, shall make any false statement in relation to any of such items; is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Requires advertisers to disclose synthetic performers' presence in ads if known, with penalties for noncompliance.

3. ANY PERSON ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF DEALING IN ANY PROPERTY OR SERVICE WHO FOR ANY COMMERCIAL PURPOSE PRODUCES OR CREATES AN ADVERTISEMENT RESPECTING ANY SUCH PROPERTY OR SERVICE, IN ANY MEDIUM OR MEDIA IN WHICH SUCH ADVERTISEMENT APPEARS, SHALL CONSPICUOUSLY DISCLOSE IN SUCH ADVERTISEMENT THAT A SYNTHETIC PERFORMER IS IN SUCH ADVERTISEMENT, WHERE SUCH PERSON HAS ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE. A VIOLATION OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL RESULT IN A CIVIL PENALTY OF ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A FIRST VIOLATION, AND FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR ANY SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.

4. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ADVERTISEMENTS AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS FOR EXPRESSIVE WORKS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MOTION PICTURES, TELEVISION PROGRAMS, STREAMING CONTENT, DOCUMENTARIES, VIDEO GAMES, OR OTHER SIMILAR AUDIOVISUAL WORKS, PROVIDED THAT THE USE OF A SYNTHETIC PERFORMER IN THE ADVERTISEMENT OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL IS CONSISTENT WITH ITS USE IN THE EXPRESSIVE WORK.

5. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL LIMIT, REDUCE, OR ENLARGE ANY RIGHTS ANY PERSON MAY HAVE UNDER SECTION FIFTY, FIFTY-F, OR FIFTY-ONE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAW OR UNDER ANY OTHER LAW.

Clarifies that the section does not limit Section 230 protections or apply to certain AI language translations.

6. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO LIMIT, OR TO ENLARGE, THE PROTECTIONS THAT 47 U.S.C. SECTION 230 CONFERS ON AN INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE FOR CONTENT PROVIDED BY ANOTHER INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER, AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN 47 U.S.C. SECTION 230.

7. THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ADVERTISEMENTS AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES: (A) AUDIO ADVERTISEMENTS; OR (B) WHERE THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOLELY INVOLVES THE LANGUAGE TRANSLATION OF A HUMAN PERFORMER.

8. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY TO ANY MEDIUM USED FOR ADVERTISING, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND TELE- VISION NETWORKS AND STATIONS, STREAMING SERVICES, CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEMS, BILLBOARDS, AND TRANSIT ADVERTISEMENTS, BY WHOM ANY ADVERTISEMENT OR SOLICITATION IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IS PUBLISHED OR DISSEMINATED.

States that invalid provisions do not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

§ 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not been included herein. § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.