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

Summary

Imposes obligations on news media employers regarding AI use in the workplace and on entities publishing AI-generated news content in New York. Requires employers to disclose to workers when and how generative AI is used in content creation, and requires conspicuous labeling of AI-substantially-created news content for consumers (unless the content is eligible for copyright registration). Mandates human review with override authority before AI-generated news content may be published. Prohibits training generative AI on a news media worker's work product without notice, consent, and opportunity to bargain over remuneration, and prohibits using AI to displace workers or diminish collective bargaining rights. Separately amends the Civil Rights Law to require employers of journalists to establish safeguards protecting journalistic sources from AI access. The bill specifies no enforcement mechanism, designated enforcement authority, or penalties.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

No designated enforcement authority or enforcement mechanism is specified in the bill. No agency is assigned enforcement responsibility and no private cause of action is created. Enforcement would presumably fall under general state enforcement authorities, but the bill itself is silent.

Penalties

The bill does not specify any penalties, damages, remedies, or attorney fees for violations.

Who Is Covered

Compliance Obligations 7 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

T-01 AI Identity Disclosure · T-01.1 · Deployer · EmploymentContent Generation

Gen. Bus. Law § 1152

Plain Language

News media employers must fully disclose to their workers when and how any generative AI tool is being used in the workplace for content creation — covering writing, recordings, transcripts, and similar outputs. The disclosure must include a description of the AI system and a summary of its purpose and use. This is a worker-facing transparency obligation, not a consumer-facing one. The bill does not specify timing, format, or frequency of the disclosure beyond requiring it to be 'full.'

Statutory Text

Disclosure to news media workers. 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 using generative AI and is published or accessible in New York must carry a conspicuous consumer-facing disclosure. For visual content, the label must be imprinted at the top of the page, webpage, image, graphic, or video. For audio content, the disclosure must be verbally stated at the onset. A notable carve-out applies: if the content is eligible for copyright registration, the disclosure requirement does not apply. This carve-out is significant because copyright eligibility generally requires sufficient human authorship — meaning content with enough human creative input to qualify for copyright is exempt, while purely or substantially AI-generated content (which the U.S. Copyright Office has indicated is not copyrightable) must be labeled.

Statutory Text

Disclosure to consumers. 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 created in whole or in material part by generative AI may be published, a human worker must review it and have the authority to approve, deny, or modify the AI's output. This is a mandatory human-in-the-loop requirement — not just a review right but an affirmative gating condition on publication. The human reviewer must have genuine override authority, not merely a rubber-stamp role. The provision references the § 1153 disclosure, linking the human oversight requirement to the consumer disclosure obligation — content that passes human review and is published must still carry the AI disclosure label (unless copyright-eligible).

Statutory Text

Oversight of artificial intelligence systems. 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 · EmploymentContent Generation

Gen. Bus. Law § 1155(1)

Plain Language

News media employers may not — directly or through a third party — authorize the use of a news media worker's work product to train a generative AI system without first providing notice, obtaining the worker's consent, and giving the worker an opportunity to bargain over remuneration. Workers who decline consent may not be penalized. This creates a three-part prerequisite (notice, consent, bargaining opportunity) before any training use of worker output, plus an anti-retaliation protection for workers who refuse.

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 · Employment

Gen. Bus. Law § 1155(2)(a)

Plain Language

The use of generative AI or automated employment decision-making tools in news media workplaces must not diminish existing employee rights under collective bargaining agreements, nor undermine existing representational or bargaining relationships between employers and employee organizations. This is a preservation mandate — employers cannot invoke AI adoption as a basis for reducing rights already secured through collective bargaining.

Statutory Text

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.

Other · Employment

Gen. Bus. Law § 1155(2)(b)

Plain Language

News media employers may not use generative AI systems in a manner that results in any worker being discharged, displaced, or losing their position — including partial displacement such as reduced hours, wages, or benefits. AI adoption also may not result in the transfer of duties and functions that were previously performed by employees or workers. This is a broad anti-displacement mandate that effectively prohibits using generative AI to replace human labor in existing news media roles.

Statutory Text

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 · Employment

Civ. Rights Law § 79-h(h)

Plain Language

Employers of professional journalists and newscasters must establish safeguards to prevent AI technology 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 affirmatively implement protections, not merely to refrain from AI use. The provision does not specify what safeguards are sufficient, leaving compliance standards undefined.

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.