Pennsylvania will require labels on AI-generated ads
News Source
β’2026-10-24T14:32:21-04:00
π° What Happened
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law on Thursday. Any ad, whether an image, video, audio clip or piece of text, that was significantly modified or made with AI must now carry a label in the same format as the ad itself.
That covers big television campaigns and small local flyers alike. Because the rule follows the ad rather than the ad maker, viewers in other states may also see the labels on commercials that air in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is one of the first states to require this.
The law has plenty of holes. What counts as "significantly modified" is subjective, and there are exceptions for parody, satire, commentary and anything that is "evidently fictional", a term the law never defines.
π The Backstory
The bill was introduced by state senator Nick Pisciottano. His office did not answer a request for comment from The Verge.
The law also appears to apply mainly to ads that use fake content in a way that creates a false impression about a product or service, which leaves open who decides what counts as false.
It arrives at a time when AI tools make realistic fake images, voices and video cheap to produce, and as several US states are writing their own rules because Congress has not passed a national one.
π― Why It Matters
Labels help people spot when an ad is not real. But vague wording means plenty of AI ads may still go unmarked, so checking who paid for an ad still matters.
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law on Thursday. Any ad, whether an image, video, audio clip or piece of text, that was significantly modified or made with AI must now carry a label in the same format as the ad itself.
That covers big television campaigns and small local flyers alike. Because the rule follows the ad rather than the ad maker, viewers in other states may also see the labels on commercials that air in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is one of the first states to require this.
The law has plenty of holes. What counts as "significantly modified" is subjective, and there are exceptions for parody, satire, commentary and anything that is "evidently fictional", a term the law never defines.
The bill was introduced by state senator Nick Pisciottano. His office did not answer a request for comment from The Verge.
The law also appears to apply mainly to ads that use fake content in a way that creates a false impression about a product or service, which leaves open who decides what counts as false.
It arrives at a time when AI tools make realistic fake images, voices and video cheap to produce, and as several US states are writing their own rules because Congress has not passed a national one.
Labels help people spot when an ad is not real. But vague wording means plenty of AI ads may still go unmarked, so checking who paid for an ad still matters.