BILL NUMBER: S8451B
SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to enacting the
"New York fundamental artificial intelligence requirements in (FAIR)
news act"
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would to establish clear, meaningful protections for both
journalists and the broader public to ensure that the integrity of the
news and its workforce are safeguarded.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Short title. This act shall be known and be cited as the "New
York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act" or
the "FAIR news act").
Section 2: This section creates a new Article 48 of the General Business
Law, regarding Artificial Intelligence in News Media
GBL § 1800 would state the legislative intent. GBL § 1801 would artic-
ulate key definitions.
GBL § 1802 would require conspicuous disclosure when news media content
was substantially created by generative AI. If the content is eligible
for copyright registration, this does not apply.
GBL § 1803 states the enforcement mechanism for the article.
Section 3: Severability clause.
Section 4: Effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York is the center of the American news industry, and journalists
are a key part of the state's workforce. The State likewise has a strong
interest in the health and preservation of journalism.
With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology, gener-
ative AI can quickly generate articles, summaries, news scripts,
audio/visual, and other media content that may seem professionally done
to a lay observer. However, there is ample evidence that this product
often contains false or misleading content, and generative AI plagi-
arizes by deriving its content from original source material without
permission or proper citation.
Given this context, there is an urgent need to prevent news companies
from using AI at the expense of journalists and to the disservice of the
general public which relies on the news for accurate information about
the world. This bill seeks to establish clear, meaningful protections
for both journalists and the public to ensure that the integrity of the
news and its workforce are safeguarded.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

Statutes affected:
S8451: 79-h civil rights law