Advertisers facing stricter state rules must comply with Pennsylvania Senate Bill 806 starting December 21, morganlewis.com reported.
The measure prohibits creating or spreading commercial advertisements featuring synthetic content that misleads consumers about product origins or capabilities without a clear notice. This restriction covers both internally produced campaigns and vendor-created marketing materials.
State law defines synthetic material to cover images, videos, audio, and text generated or significantly altered by artificial intelligence tools. For instance, a car commercial might use digital imagery to exaggerate a vehicle’s ability to drive through heavy snow or rugged terrain.
Another example involves athletic footwear advertisements utilizing digital effects to display durability the physical product cannot achieve. Such modifications create misleading impressions of merchandise capabilities even without explicit verbal claims, according to morganlewis.com.
Section 4(a) mandates that notices state clearly that an advertisement contains content generated or modified using artificial intelligence. The disclaimer must appear when viewers first encounter the material and must share the same medium as the primary content.
Digital advertisements present unique placement hurdles for brands. A notice that appears only after a user clicks to a separate page, or one that becomes unreadable on mobile screens, creates compliance failures under the statute.
Beginning December 21, the Pennsylvania attorney general or a local district attorney may file court actions to halt prohibited advertising when enforcement serves the public interest, morganlewis.com reported. Courts hold the authority to award financial damages, civil fines reaching up to $3,000, and actual attorney fees alongside court costs.
- Pennsylvania: SB 806 takes effect on December 21, covering general misleading AI commercial content with fines up to $3,000.
- New York: General Business Law Section 396-b takes effect in June 2026, requiring disclosures for synthetic performers with fines of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for subsequent offenses.
- California: SB 1050 takes effect on January 1, 2027, targeting prominent synthetic performers and commercial messages with platform removal mechanisms.
New York General Business Law Section 396-b exempts audio-only advertisements and certain other specific uses from its digital performer disclosure mandates.
Legal and marketing teams must review existing approval workflows to evaluate how AI content is assessed before public release. Brands need to check product demonstrations, before-and-after visuals, and feature claims while ensuring creative agencies flag significant digital modifications prior to final approval.
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