Regulon — NY-S-08451 · NY S 8451 (FAIR News Act)

Summary

The FAIR News Act imposes obligations on news media employers regarding use of generative AI in newsrooms. It requires employers to disclose to workers when and how generative AI tools are used in content creation, and requires consumer-facing labeling of news content substantially created by generative AI (unless eligible for copyright registration). Content created in whole or material part by generative AI must be reviewed and approved by a human worker before publication. The bill prohibits training generative AI on news workers' work product without notice, consent, and bargaining opportunity, and prohibits use of AI that results in worker displacement. Employers of journalists must also establish safeguards to protect journalistic sources from AI access. No enforcement mechanism, penalties, or private right of action are specified.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

No enforcement authority or mechanism is specified in the bill. No agency is designated to enforce the provisions, and no private right of action is created. The bill amends the General Business Law and Civil Rights Law but does not specify penalties, enforcement procedures, or complaint processes.

Penalties

The bill does not specify any monetary penalties, civil penalties, statutory damages, injunctive relief, or other remedies for violations.

Who Is Covered

What Is Covered

"News media" shall mean any publication or programming, regardless of the medium or method of distribution, that provides news, weather, traffic, sports, or entertainment reports or programming. This includes but is not limited to newspapers, magazines, journals, periodicals, websites, newsletters, television or cable programming, radio or podcast programming, and internet or satellite-based content.

Compliance Obligations 6 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

T-01 AI Identity Disclosure · T-01.1 · Deployer · Content GenerationEmployment

Gen. Bus. Law § 1152

Plain Language

News media employers must fully disclose to their workers whenever and however generative AI tools are used in the workplace for content creation — including writing, recordings, and transcripts. The disclosure must include a description of the AI system and a summary of its purpose and use. This is an internal workforce disclosure obligation (employer to employee), not a consumer-facing requirement. The statute does not specify timing, format, or frequency of the disclosure beyond requiring it to be 'full.'

Statutory Text

News media employers shall fully disclose to workers when and how any generative artificial intelligence tool is used in the workplace as it relates to the creation of content, including, but not limited to, writing, recordings and transcripts. Such disclosure shall include a description of the artificial intelligence system and a summary of the purpose and use of such system.

T-02 AI Content Labeling & Provenance · T-02.1 · Deployer · Content Generation

Gen. Bus. Law § 1153

Plain Language

News media content that was substantially created by generative AI and is published or accessible in New York must carry a conspicuous label. For visual content, the label must appear at the top of the page, webpage, image, graphic, or video. For audio content, the disclosure must be verbally stated at the onset. Critically, this requirement does not apply if the content is eligible for copyright registration — which creates a significant carve-out, since content with sufficient human authorship to qualify for copyright protection would be exempt. The practical effect is that this labeling requirement targets fully or predominantly AI-generated content that lacks the human creative input necessary for copyright eligibility.

Statutory Text

Any news media content published, broadcast, or otherwise disseminated or accessible within the state of New York, which was substantially composed, authored, or otherwise created through the use of generative artificial intelligence shall conspicuously imprint on the top of the page, webpage, image, graphic, video or other visual or audio/visual content, or verbally orate at the onset of audio content, that such content was substantially created by generative artificial intelligence. If the content is eligible for copyright registration such disclosure requirement shall not apply.

H-01 Human Oversight of Automated Decisions · H-01.6 · Deployer · Content Generation

Gen. Bus. Law § 1154

Plain Language

Before any news media content that was created in whole or material part by generative AI may be published, a human worker must review the content and have the authority to approve, deny, or modify the AI-generated output. This is a mandatory human-in-the-loop review requirement — AI-generated news content cannot go directly to publication without human authorization. The human reviewer must have genuine decisional authority, not merely a rubber-stamp role. This provision is linked to the consumer disclosure requirement in § 1153, meaning it applies specifically to content that would trigger labeling obligations.

Statutory Text

Any news media content, including stories, articles, audio, visuals or images, which are created in whole or in material part by generative artificial intelligence shall be reviewed by a human worker who has the authority to approve, deny, or modify any decision recommended or made by the automated system before such content may be published with the disclosure under section eleven hundred fifty-three of this article.

D-01 Automated Processing Rights & Data Controls · D-01.8 · Deployer · Content GenerationEmployment

Gen. Bus. Law § 1155(1)

Plain Language

News media employers may not train (or authorize a third party to train) a generative AI system on a news media worker's work product without providing notice, obtaining consent, and giving the worker an opportunity to bargain over appropriate compensation. Workers who decline consent may not be penalized. This creates a three-part prerequisite — notice, consent, and bargaining opportunity — before any AI training use of employee-created content. The anti-retaliation provision ensures the consent is genuinely voluntary.

Statutory Text

News media employers shall not directly or through a third party authorize the training of a generative artificial intelligence system on the work product of a news media worker without notice, consent and an opportunity to bargain over appropriate remuneration. A news media employer shall not penalize a news media worker for declining to consent to allow their work product to be used to train a generative artificial intelligence system.

Other · Content GenerationEmployment

Gen. Bus. Law § 1155(2)(a)-(b)

Plain Language

News media employers may not use generative AI or automated employment decision-making tools in ways that diminish existing collective bargaining rights, representational relationships, or bargaining relationships. Additionally, the use of generative AI may not result in any worker displacement — including discharge, loss of position, reduction in hours or wages, impairment of existing collective bargaining agreements, or transfer of duties previously performed by employees. This is effectively a prohibition on AI-driven workforce reduction in the news media sector. The scope is very broad — it appears to prohibit even partial displacement such as reduced hours.

Statutory Text

(a) The use of generative artificial intelligence or automated employment decision-making tools shall not diminish (i) the existing rights of employees pursuant to an existing collective bargaining agreement; or (ii) the existing representational relationships among employee organizations or the bargaining relationships between the employer and an employee organization. (b) The use of generative artificial intelligence systems shall not result in: (i) discharge, displacement or loss of position, including partial displacement such as a reduction in the hours of non-overtime work, wages, or employment benefits, or result in the impairment of existing collective bargaining agreements; or (ii) transfer of existing duties and functions previously performed by employees or workers.

Other · Content GenerationEmployment

Civ. Rights Law § 79-h(h)

Plain Language

Employers of professional journalists and newscasters must establish safeguards to prevent AI systems from accessing journalistic sources and confidential materials — including materials gathered through location tracking, surveillance, or any other means. This amends New York's existing journalist shield law (Civil Rights Law § 79-h) to extend source protection into the AI context. The obligation is on the employer to create the safeguards, and it covers access by any AI technology, not just generative AI. The provision does not specify what safeguards are sufficient.

Statutory Text

Employers of professional journalists and newscasters shall establish safeguards to protect journalistic sources and confidential materials gathered through location tracking, surveillance or any other means, which can be accessed by any artificial intelligence technology, as defined by section eleven hundred fifty-one of the general business law.