BILL NUMBER: S6859A
SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
advertisements to disclose the use of a synthetic performer
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would require disclaimers when commercial content contains a
deepfake.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends section 396-b of the general business law.
Section two provides a severability clause. Section three establishes
the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Deepfakes are synthetic media that are manipulated to appear as the
likeness of a person. Deepfakes are used by advertisers to sell
products, by individuals to prank others or by those who wish to distort
reality.
With easy access to technology, there has been an increase in the use of
deepfakes across all forms of media, including on social media and in
digital advertising. Without notice that the content one is viewing is
not real, deepfakes and manipulated media contribute to a false news
narrative and undermine one's ability to accurately distill fact from
fiction.
This legislation will require deepfakes used for a commercial purpose to
be clearly labeled as such so that the average user will be able to
easily discern, at the point of viewing, that the image they are looking
at is not real, but a deepfake. Failure to properly label a deepfake
will result in civil penalties up to $5,000.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S6859: 396-b general business law
S6859A: 396-b general business law