Pennsylvania Becomes One of the First States to Require Labels on AI-Generated Ads

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday, October 22, signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, making the state one of the first to require disclosures on advertising made with artificial intelligence, CBS Pittsburgh reported. The law, Senate Bill 806, takes effect in 60 days. It requires an ad that has been significantly modified or generated by AI to carry a label in the same format as the ad itself, The Verge reported, which covers everything from national TV commercials to a local restaurant's flyer.

What the law requires

State Sen. Nick Pisciottano, who sponsored the bill, told CBS Pittsburgh that an AI-generated ad on Facebook or elsewhere online will need a disclaimer saying it was generated by AI, and that a TV or radio commercial created with AI would need a similar note. The rule applies to ads shown in Pennsylvania even if they were made out of state, so national advertisers may add labels to campaigns that run there. Enforcement falls to the Office of Attorney General, and Pisciottano said fines and even jail time are possible, with responsibility placed on companies rather than individual users. He said political ads are not covered.

Pisciottano said consumer groups representing older residents told lawmakers that people were being scammed through fake AI advertising, and he warned the technology will soon make real and fake content very hard to tell apart.

The gaps

The Verge points to loopholes. What counts as significantly modified is subjective, and there are carve-outs for parody, satire, commentary or criticism and for anything evidently fictional. The wording also suggests a label is needed only when synthetic content creates a false consumer perception about a product or service, leaving open who decides what is false.

Why it matters

With Congress still debating federal rules, states keep setting the pace on AI and consumer protection, much as California moved on AI safety by executive order and New Mexico's attorney general put AI companies on notice. For small businesses that use AI-generated images in their marketing, the law means checking ads before they run in Pennsylvania. Pisciottano predicted that either the federal government or many other states will adopt similar requirements.

What to watch: guidance from the attorney general on what counts as significantly modified, the first enforcement actions after the law takes effect, and whether neighboring states copy the label requirement.