Pennsylvania Enacts Law Requiring Labels on AI-Generated Advertisements

New AI Advertising Law in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law. This new legislation mandates that advertisements significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence must include a disclosure label. The requirement applies to all ad formats, including still images, video, audio, and text.

Scope of the Regulation

The law dictates that the label must be in the same format as the advertisement itself. This applies broadly, from large corporate TV commercials to local restaurant flyers. Pennsylvania is among the first states to implement such disclosure requirements for AI content, and these labels will be required regardless of where the ad was created, potentially affecting commercials aired in other states if they are also intended for Pennsylvania audiences.

Identified Loopholes and Ambiguities

The Act contains several areas of ambiguity. The definition of "significantly modified" is subjective, and there are carve-outs for content categorized as "parody, satire, commentary or criticism," as well as anything "evidently fictional." The law also suggests that disclosures are only necessary when synthetic content creates a "false consumer perception" about a product or service, leaving open questions about what constitutes "false" and who determines it.