NY Legislative Update: Fair News Act (S.8451 & A.8962B) Passes

We opposed this legislation. As originally drafted, the bill contained numerous provisions that would have had a significant negative impact on newsroom operations throughout the Empire State. These onerous provisions were taken out of the final legislation. Nonetheless, we continue to oppose the legislation.

The final bill was limited to a consumer disclosure requirement. Stations are required to place a written or verbal disclosure on all content substantially composed or otherwise created with generative AI. The NY Attorney General is authorized to enforce through injunctions or civil damages. 

There is a significant exemption.  A disclosure is not required for any content that is eligible for copyright protection. Thus, the practical effect of the law may be minimal, because nearly all content that is broadcast is eligible for copyright protection.

Nonetheless, we oppose this requirement. It imposes liability based on the tools used to create the content, not on the accuracy of the content itself. It could impose liability even if the news story was accurate and truthful.  It could create liability for stations based on content received from a third-party national or international news sources that were produced outside New York. Liability could apply even if the local news outlet had no knowledge that generative AI was used to create the national or international news story. Also, this gives the NY Attorney General the authority to examine every newsroom to see if a news story needed a disclosure. This raises serious First Amendment issues. 

We will continue to oppose this legislation as it moves forward to be signed by the Governor.  We are not alone.  We helped form a coalition comprised of nearly every news entity in New York to oppose this legislation.

You can see the legislation here.

You can access NYSBA’s memo in opposition here.

You can see a letter signed by the major news entities in New York here.