Barry Benjamin spoke with Bloomberg about New York’s new synthetic performer disclosure law and the evolving regulatory landscape for AI-generated content in advertising. The following is an excerpt:
A landmark New York law requiring advertisers to disclose their use of synthetic performers is generating the first consumer complaints in a test of policy makers’ latest efforts to mitigate some of the potential negative effects of AI.
The measure, known as the synthetic performer disclosure law, took effect in June and requires companies to state explicitly when AI-generated “synthetic performers” are used in advertising.
Consumers can’t sue companies directly, and must rely on the state attorney general to enforce the law against offenders who use models that look human but were made using AI. The office said it’s already hearing complaints from citizens.
The law is one of the first attempts to counter what lawmakers see as consumer deception surrounding use of AI in marketing. How New York enforces its law will likely inform how other states looking to move forward with similar measures proceed.
The disclosure law goes along with another one the state passed around the same time, the Fashion Workers Act, which requires advertisers and modeling agencies to obtain written consent for computer-generated or AI-enhanced representations of a model’s likeness, said Barry Benjamin, a partner at Venable LLP. That law aims both to protect models’ right of publicity — to control use of their image and likeness, he said.
But attorneys for the advertising industry question the synthetic performer disclosure law’s scope and purpose, as well as whether it can effectively combat consumer deception considering its notable exceptions.
There’s a longstanding tradition of “making sure consumers have the right to know when they’re being advertised to,” Benjamin said.
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