Pennsylvania enacts law regulating AI-generated advertisements

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act into law last Thursday, requiring all advertisements shown in Pennsylvania to carry a clear and conspicuous disclosure stating that the ad contains content modified or generated using artificial intelligence. The law bars advertisers from using synthetic content in ways that create a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of goods or services, and it applies to ads made in other states or countries as well. Critics cited by The Verge question the law's effectiveness, pointing to subjective language such as "significantly modified" and exceptions for parody, satire, commentary or criticism that give advertisers legal wiggle room.

Pennsylvania enacts law regulating AI-generated advertisements Across the nation, there appears to be growing frustration https://mashable.com/life/ai-slop-food-photos-restaurant-menus with the explosion of AI-generated advertising plaguing small-business storefronts and restaurant interiors. Last Thursday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/2025/0/SB0806/PN1808 into law, mandating that all ads, from million-dollar television commercials to printed flyers passed out on the street, contain a disclosure label in the same format as the ad itself. The purpose of the bill is to combat false or misleading advertising, which is much easier to engage in with the help of AI-generated content. The bill, as introduced, states: "An advertiser may not create and disseminate or cause to be created and disseminated an advertisement that uses synthetic content in a manner that creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services being advertised, without clear and conspicuous disclosure. A disclosure under this section must state that the advertisement contains content that was modified or generated using artificial intelligence." And because it applies to all advertising shown in Pennsylvania, it will impact, for example, television commercials created in other states or advertisements made in other countries, so the consequences of this bill will be far-reaching. Terms of Use https://www.ziffdavis.com/terms-of-use and Privacy Policy https://www.ziffdavis.com/ztg-privacy-policy . You May Also Like According to reporting by The Verge https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1018187/pennsylvania-ai-deceptive-advertising-act , though, critics of the bill wonder how effective it will be, given the imprecise nature of some of the language used. As The Verge notes , language like "significantly modified" is subjective and open to wide ranges of interpretation, while extensive exceptions made for "parody, satire, commentary, or criticism" offer advertisers legal wiggle room. Whatever the ultimate impacts of the bill or the future interpretations by the court system, it represents another attempt by elected representatives to respond to the overwhelming will of voters https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/06/15/americans-strongly-support-regulations-on-ai/ to bring artificial intelligence under legislative control, so we expect this bill to initiate a trend.