S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6540--E
Cal. No. 163
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 5, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BORES, CUNNINGHAM, KELLES, FORREST, CHANDLER-WA-
TERMAN, TORRES, OTIS, DURSO -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Science and Technology -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee --
reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported and
referred to the Committee on Rules -- Rules Committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee
on Rules -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- ordered to a third read-
ing, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order
of third reading -- again amended on third reading, ordered reprinted,
retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
synthetic content creations system providers to include provenance
data on synthetic content produced or modified by a synthetic content
creations system that the synthetic content creations system provider
makes available
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "stop deep-
fakes act".
§ 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new article 45-C
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 45-C
STOP DEEPFAKES ACT
SECTION 1550. DEFINITIONS.
1551. SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM.
1552. CONTENT PROVENANCE PRESERVATION.
1553. PROVENANCE DATA REQUIREMENTS.
1554. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.
§ 1550. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07930-26-6
A. 6540--E 2
1. "PROVENANCE DATA" MEANS DATA THAT RECORDS THE ORIGIN OR HISTORY OF
DIGITAL CONTENT AND IS COMMUNICATED AS A CONTENT CREDENTIAL OR VIA
ANOTHER SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR METHOD, PURSUANT TO EITHER THE TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION FOR CONTENT CREDENTIALS PUBLISHED BY THE COALITION FOR
CONTENT PROVENANCE AND AUTHENTICITY, OR PURSUANT TO RELEVANT STANDARDS,
GUIDELINES OR SPECIFICATIONS WHICH ADOPT GENERALLY ACCEPTED SECURITY
BEST PRACTICES AND ARE PUBLISHED BY AN ESTABLISHED STANDARDS SETTING
BODY. SUCH DATA MUST AT A MINIMUM COMMUNICATE: (A) INFORMATION ABOUT
THE ORIGIN OR CREATION OF THE CONTENT; (B) SUBSEQUENT EDITING OR MODIFI-
CATION TO THE CONTENT OR ITS METADATA; AND (C) USE OF A SYNTHETIC
CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM IN GENERATING OR MODIFYING THE CONTENT. SUCH
DATA SHALL BE CRYPTOGRAPHICALLY BOUND TO THE UNDERLYING FILE AND USE
SIGNING CREDENTIALS WHENEVER THE MEDIUM OF THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT PERMITS
SUCH BINDING CREDENTIALS. "PROVENANCE DATA" SHALL NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL
INFORMATION AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWO OF
THE STATE TECHNOLOGY LAW, OR UNIQUE DEVICE, SYSTEM, OR SERVICE INFORMA-
TION THAT IS REASONABLY CAPABLE OF BEING ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR
USER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO AN INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESS, UNLESS
A USER CHOOSES TO INCLUDE SUCH PERSONAL INFORMATION IN SUCH DATA
DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A), (B), OR (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
2. "GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM" MEANS A CLASS OF ARTI-
FICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM THAT IS SELF-SUPERVISED AND EMULATES THE
STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF INPUT DATA TO GENERATE DERIVED SYNTHET-
IC CONTENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMAGES, VIDEOS, AUDIO, TEXT,
AND OTHER DIGITAL CONTENT.
3. "SYNTHETIC CONTENT" MEANS AUDIO OR VISUAL CONTENT THAT HAS BEEN
GENERATED OR MATERIALLY MODIFIED BY A SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS
SYSTEM.
4. "STATE AGENCY" HAS THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION SIX
OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWO OF THE STATE TECHNOLOGY LAW.
5. "SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER" MEANS AN ORGANIZATION
OR INDIVIDUAL THAT CREATES, CODES, SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIES, OR OTHERWISE
PRODUCES A SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM THAT IS MADE PUBLICLY
AVAILABLE FOR USE BY A NEW YORK RESIDENT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE
TERMS OF SUCH USE INCLUDE COMPENSATION.
6. "SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM HOSTING PLATFORM" MEANS AN
ONLINE REPOSITORY OR OTHER WEBSITE, OTHER THAN THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT
CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER, THAT MAKES A SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS
SYSTEM AVAILABLE FOR USE BY A NEW YORK RESIDENT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER
THE TERMS OF SUCH USE INCLUDE COMPENSATION. SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS
SYSTEM HOSTING PLATFORM DOES NOT INCLUDE A CLOUD COMPUTING PLATFORM OR
OTHER SERVICE INSOFAR AS SUCH CLOUD COMPUTING PLATFORM OR OTHER SERVICE
MAKES SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEMS AVAILABLE FOR USE BY A NEW
YORK STATE RESIDENT SOLELY AT THE DIRECTION OF OTHERS.
7. "SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS IN SECTION
ELEVEN HUNDRED OF THIS CHAPTER.
8. "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" OR "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY"
MEANS A MACHINE-BASED SYSTEM THAT CAN, FOR A GIVEN SET OF HUMAN-DEFINED
OBJECTIVES, MAKE PREDICTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, OR DECISIONS INFLUENCING
REAL OR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, AND THAT USES MACHINE- AND HUMAN-BASED
INPUTS TO PERCEIVE REAL AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, ABSTRACT SUCH PERCEP-
TIONS INTO MODELS THROUGH ANALYSIS IN AN AUTOMATED MANNER, AND USE MODEL
INFERENCE TO FORMULATE OPTIONS FOR INFORMATION OR ACTION.
9. "SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM" MEANS A CLASS OF GENERATIVE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM CAPABLE OF GENERATING WHOLLY SYNTHETIC
CONTENT.
A. 6540--E 3
10. "FILE-SHARING PLATFORM" MEANS AN ONLINE SERVICE FOR WHICH A PRIMA-
RY FUNCTION IS TO ENABLE USERS TO UPLOAD FILES AND MAKE SUCH FILES
AVAILABLE FOR ACCESS, DISCOVERY, OR DOWNLOAD BY USERS WHO DID NOT CREATE
OR COLLABORATE IN CREATING THE CONTENT, INCLUDING THROUGH PUBLIC LINKS,
BROWSING INTERFACES, OR SIMILAR DISTRIBUTION FEATURES.
11. "MASS MESSAGING PLATFORM" MEANS A PUBLIC-FACING DIRECT MESSAGING
PLATFORM THAT ALLOWS USERS TO DISTRIBUTE CONTENT TO MORE THAN ONE
HUNDRED USERS SIMULTANEOUSLY.
12. "LARGE ONLINE PLATFORM" MEANS A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM, FILE-SHAR-
ING PLATFORM, MASS MESSAGING PLATFORM, OR STAND-ALONE SEARCH ENGINE THAT
DISTRIBUTES CONTENT TO USERS WHO DID NOT CREATE OR COLLABORATE IN CREAT-
ING THE CONTENT. A "LARGE ONLINE PLATFORM" DOES NOT INCLUDE:
(A) BROADBAND, BROADBAND SERVICE OR BROADBAND INTERNET, AS DEFINED IN
PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION SIXTEEN-GG OF THE NEW YORK
STATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ACT, AS ADDED BY SECTION TWO OF PART
MMM OF CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO; OR
(B) A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 153 OF TITLE
47 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE.
(C) ANY INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE OR PLATFORM AS A SERVICE, AS THOSE
TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLO-
GY'S SPECIAL PUBLICATION 800-145, AND ANY SUBSEQUENT VERSION OF SUCH
PUBLICATION.
§ 1551. SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM. 1. A SYNTHETIC CONTENT
CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER SHALL APPLY PROVENANCE DATA, EITHER DIRECTLY
OR THROUGH THE USE OF THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY, TO SYNTHETIC CONTENT
PRODUCED OR MODIFIED BY A SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM THAT THE
SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER MAKES AVAILABLE; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, THAT THIS OBLIGATION SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT THE SYNTHET-
IC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PERFORMS AN ASSISTIVE FUNCTION FOR STANDARD
EDITING OR DOES NOT SUBSTANTIALLY ALTER THE INPUT DATA PROVIDED BY THE
DEPLOYER OR THE SEMANTICS THEREOF.
2. THE APPLICATION OF PROVENANCE DATA TO SYNTHETIC CONTENT, AS
REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION, SHALL, AT A MINIMUM, IDENTIFY THE DIGITAL
CONTENT AS SYNTHETIC AND COMMUNICATE THE FOLLOWING PROVENANCE DATA:
(A) THAT THE CONTENT WAS CREATED OR EDITED USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLI-
GENCE;
(B) THE NAME OF THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER;
(C) THE TIME AND DATE THE PROVENANCE DATA WAS APPLIED;
(D) TO THE EXTENT TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE, THE SPECIFIC PORTIONS OF THE
CONTENT THAT THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM GENERATED; AND
(E) THE TYPE OF DEVICE, SYSTEM, OR SERVICE THAT WAS USED TO GENERATE
THE IMAGE, AUDIO, OR VIDEO.
3. SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM HOSTING PLATFORMS SHALL NOT MAKE
AVAILABLE A SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM WHERE THE HOSTING PLAT-
FORM KNOWS THAT THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER FOR SUCH
SYSTEM DOES NOT APPLY PROVENANCE DATA TO CONTENT CREATED OR SUBSTANTIAL-
LY MODIFIED BY THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM IN A MANNER CONSISTENT
WITH SPECIFICATIONS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION, NOR SHALL A SYNTHETIC
CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM HOSTING PLATFORM DELIBERATELY PREVENT A
SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER FROM APPLYING PROVENANCE
DATA TO CONTENT CREATED OR SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIED BY A SYNTHETIC CONTENT
CREATIONS SYSTEM IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS SET
FORTH ABOVE.
4. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL ONLY APPLY TO SYNTHETIC
CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEMS THAT WERE CREATED OR MODIFIED AFTER THE EFFEC-
TIVE DATE OF THIS ARTICLE.
A. 6540--E 4
§ 1552. CONTENT PROVENANCE PRESERVATION. 1. A LARGE ONLINE PLATFORM
SHALL NOT DELETE, DISASSOCIATE, OR DEGRADE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, PROVE-
NANCE DATA FROM OR ASSOCIATED WITH CONTENT UPLOADED TO THE LARGE ONLINE
PLATFORM, UNLESS AND UNTIL SUCH CONTENT IS PERMANENTLY DELETED OR
REMOVED FROM THE LARGE ONLINE PLATFORM OR THE DELETION, DISASSOCIATION,
OR DEGRADATION OF SUCH CONTENT IS REQUIRED BY LAW. NOTHING IN THIS ARTI-
CLE SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS PROHIBITING USERS FROM CHOOSING TO INCLUDE
PERSONAL INFORMATION IN PROVENANCE DATA FROM OR ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH
UPLOADED CONTENT.
2. (A) A LARGE ONLINE PLATFORM SHALL BE REQUIRED TO SURFACE LATENT
PROVENANCE DATA WITH EITHER CONTENT THAT IS AN IMAGE, VIDEO, OR AUDIO,
OR CONTENT THAT IS ANY COMBINATION THEREOF, THAT IS:
(I) CLEAR, CONSPICUOUS, APPROPRIATE FOR THE MEDIUM OF THE CONTENT AND
UNDERSTANDABLE TO A REASONABLE NATURAL PERSON; AND
(II) PERMANENT OR EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE OR MODIFY.
(B) SUCH SURFACING OF LATENT PROVENANCE DATA SHALL INCLUDE, TO THE
EXTENT SUCH INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AND RELIABLE IN CONFORMANCE WITH
SECURITY BEST PRACTICES VIA THE PROVENANCE DATA, THE FOLLOWING INFORMA-
TION:
(I) WHETHER OR NOT THE CONTENT WAS CREATED OR MODIFIED USING A
SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM;
(II) THE NAME OF THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER USED,
IF ANY;
(III) THE TIME AND DATE THE PROVENANCE DATA WAS APPLIED;
(IV) THE TYPE OF DEVICE, SYSTEM, OR SERVICE THAT WAS USED TO GENERATE
THE IMAGE, AUDIO, OR VIDEO;
(V) THE NAME OF THE TOOL USED TO APPLY THE PROVENANCE DATA; AND
(VI) THE SPECIFIC PORTIONS OF THE CONTENT THAT THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT
CREATIONS SYSTEM GENERATED, IF ANY.
(C) THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO FILE SHARING PLATFORMS THAT
ARE DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR FILE STORAGE OR COLLABORATION WITHIN A
DEFINED ORGANIZATION, WORKSPACE, OR GROUP OF USERS IN WHICH ACCESS TO
FILES IS LIMITED THROUGH PERMISSION-BASED OR INVITATION-ONLY CONTROLS,
OR WHERE CONTENT IS NOT ROUTINELY SURFACED OR DISTRIBUTED TO THE GENERAL
PUBLIC, NOR SHALL THIS SUBDIVISION APPLY TO MASS MESSAGING PLATFORMS
THAT ARE DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR COMMUNICATION WITHIN A DEFINED ORGANIZA-
TION, WORKSPACE, OR GROUP WHERE PARTICIPATION IS LIMITED THROUGH PERMIS-
SION-BASED OR INVITATION-ONLY CONTROLS AND WHERE MESSAGES ON SUCH PLAT-
FORM ARE NOT ROUTINELY DISTRIBUTED OR SURFACED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
§ 1553. PROVENANCE DATA REQUIREMENTS. 1. A STATE AGENCY SHALL ENSURE,
TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE EITHER THROUGH DIRECT APPLICATION OR THROUGH
THE USE OF THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY, THAT ALL AUDIO, IMAGES AND VIDEOS
PUBLISHED OR DISTRIBUTED ELECTRONICALLY BY THE STATE AGENCY CARRY PROVE-
NANCE DATA.
2. THE APPLICATION OF PROVENANCE DATA TO AUDIO, IMAGES AND VIDEOS, AS
REQUIRED BY THIS ARTICLE, SHALL, AT A MINIMUM, COMMUNICATE THE FOLLOWING
PROVENANCE DATA:
(A) THE TYPE OF DEVICE, SYSTEM, OR SERVICE THAT WAS USED TO GENERATE
THE AUDIO, IMAGE OR VIDEO, TO THE EXTENT THE DEVICE, SYSTEM, OR SERVICE
HAS THE TECHNICAL CAPABILITY TO DO SO;
(B) THE SPECIFIC PORTIONS OF THE CONTENT THAT THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT
CREATIONS SYSTEM USED BY THE STATE AGENCY GENERATED, IF ANY;
(C) WHETHER THE CONTENT WAS CREATED OR EDITED USING ARTIFICIAL INTEL-
LIGENCE;
(D) THE NAME OF THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT CREATIONS SYSTEM PROVIDER USED
TO GENERATE THE SYNTHETIC CONTENT, IF ANY; AND
A. 6540--E 5
(E) THE TIME AND DATE ANY OF THE PROVENANCE DATA DELINEATED IN THIS
SECTION WAS APPLIED.
§ 1554. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. IN ADDITION TO THE OTHER
REMEDIES PROVIDED, WHENEVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE,
APPLICATION MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDIC-
TION BY A SPECIAL PROCEEDING TO ISSUE AN INJUNCTION, AND UPON NOTICE TO
THE DEFENDANT OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN THE
CONTINUANCE OF SUCH VIOLATIONS; AND IF IT SHALL APPEAR TO THE SATISFAC-
TION OF THE COURT OR JUSTICE THAT THE DEFENDANT HAS, IN FACT, VIOLATED
THIS ARTICLE, AN INJUNCTION MAY BE ISSUED BY SUCH COURT OR JUSTICE,
ENJOINING AND RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER VIOLATION, WITHOUT REQUIRING PROOF
THAT ANY PERSON HAS, IN FACT, BEEN INJURED OR DAMAGED THEREBY. IN ANY
SUCH PROCEEDING, THE COURT MAY MAKE ALLOWANCES TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH SIX OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION EIGHTY-THREE
HUNDRED THREE OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES. WHENEVER THE COURT
SHALL DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS ARTICLE HAS OCCURRED, THE COURT
MAY IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY OF NOT MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS
FOR EACH VIOLATION.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law.