NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8451

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jul 07, 2025	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 42-A §§1150 - 1155, Gen Bus L; amd §79-h, Civ Rts L

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "New York fundamental artificial intelligence requirements in (FAIR) news act"; provides requirements for fairness in disclosures to news media workers, news media consumers, oversight of AI systems, and workplace protections for news media workers.

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8451

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law and the civil rights law, in
relation to enacting the "New York fundamental artificial intelligence
requirements in (FAIR) news act"

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would to establish clear, meaningful protections for both
journalists and the broader public to ensure that the integrity of the
news and its workforce are safeguarded.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Short title. This act shall be known and be cited as the "New
York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act" or
the "FAIR news act").

Section 2: This section creates a new Article 42-A of the General Busi-

ness Law, regarding Artificial Intelligence in News Media GBL § 1150
would state the legislative intent. GBL § 1151 would articulate key
definitions.

GBL § 1152 would require news media employers to fully disclose to work-
ers when and how any generative AI tool is used in the workplace as it
relates to the creation of content, which includes a description of the
AI system and a summary of the purpose and use of such system.

GBL § 1153 would require conspicuous disclosure when news media content
was substantially created by generative AI. If the content is eligible
for copyright registration, this does not apply.

GBL § 1154 would require that any news media content created in whole or
in material part by generative AI must be reviewed by a human worker who
has editorial authority before such content may be published with the
disclosure noted above.

GBL § 1155 would require consent and an opportunity to bargain over
renumeration before training a generative AI system on a worker's work
product. It also prohibits the diminishment of existing rights of
employees pursuant to a CBA, or the replacement of workers by generative
AI.

Section 3: This section amends Civil Rights Law § 79-h (Special
provisions relating to persons employed by, or connected with, news
media) to add a new subdivision (h) requiring employers of professional
journalists and newscasters to establish safeguards to protect journal-
istic sources and confidential materials, gathered through location
tracking, surveillance or any other means, which can be accessed by any
AI technology.

Section 4: Severability clause. Section 5: Effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:


New York is the center of the American news industry, and journalists
are a key part of the state's workforce. The State likewise has a strong
interest in the health and preservation of journalism.  With the rapid
advancement of artificial intelligence technology, generative AI can
quickly generate articles, summaries, news scripts, audio/visual, and
other media content that may seem professionally done to a lay observer.
However, there is ample evidence that this product often contains false
or misleading content, and generative AI plagiarizes by deriving its
content from original source material without permission or proper cita-
tion.

Given this context, there is an urgent need to prevent news companies
from using AI at the expense of journalists and to the disservice of the
general public which relies on the news for accurate information about
the world. This bill seeks to establish clear, meaningful protections
for both journalists and the public to ensure that the integrity of the
news and its workforce are safeguarded.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8451
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               July 7, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  FAHY  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law and the civil  rights  law,  in
   relation to enacting the "New York fundamental artificial intelligence
   requirements in (FAIR) news act"

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "New York fundamental artificial intelligence requirements in (FAIR)
 news act".
   §  2. The general business law is amended by adding a new article 42-a
 to read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 42-A
                   ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN NEWS MEDIA
 SECTION 1150. LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
         1151. DEFINITIONS.
         1152. DISCLOSURE TO NEWS MEDIA WORKERS.
         1153. DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMERS.
         1154. OVERSIGHT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS.
         1155. WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS.
   § 1150. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. THE LEGISLATURE HEREBY FINDS THAT:
   1. NEW YORK IS THE CENTER OF THE AMERICAN NEWS INDUSTRY  AND  JOURNAL-
 ISTS ARE A KEY PART OF THE STATE'S WORKFORCE.
   2.  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE CAN QUICKLY GENERATE ARTICLES, SUMMARIES,
 NEWS SCRIPTS, AUDIO/VISUAL AND OTHER MEDIA CONTENT THAT MAY SEEM PROFES-
 SIONALLY DONE TO A LAY OBSERVER. HOWEVER, THERE IS AMPLE  EVIDENCE  THAT
 CONTENT  CREATED  BY  GENERATIVE  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE: (A) CONTAINS
 FALSE OR MISLEADING CONTENT; AND (B) PLAGIARIZES BY DERIVING ITS CONTENT
 FROM ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL WITHOUT  PERMISSION  OR  PROPER  CITATION.
 THESE FAILURES ARE A DISSERVICE TO THE PUBLIC WHO RELIES ON THE NEWS FOR
 ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WORLD.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13419-01-5

 S. 8451                             2
 
   3.  AS  SUCH, THE GOVERNMENT HAS A STRONG INTEREST IN THE PRESERVATION
 OF HUMAN NEWS WORK. THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO  PREVENT  NEWS  COMPANIES
 FROM  USING  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE AT THE EXPENSE OF BOTH THE BROADER
 PUBLIC AND OF NEWS WORKERS, INCLUDING  HUMAN  REPORTERS,  EDITORS,  NEWS
 WRITERS, DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS, VOICE ACTORS, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AND OTHER
 NEWSROOM PROFESSIONALS.
   4.  IT  IS THEREFORE THE INTENT OF THE LEGISLATURE TO ESTABLISH CLEAR,
 MEANINGFUL PROTECTIONS FOR BOTH JOURNALISTS AND THE  BROADER  PUBLIC  TO
 ENSURE THAT THE INTEGRITY OF THE NEWS AND ITS WORKFORCE ARE SAFEGUARDED.
   §  1151.  DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING
 TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   1. "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE", "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY", OR
 "AI" MEANS A MACHINE-BASED SYSTEM THAT CAN, FOR A GIVEN SET OF HUMAN-DE-
 FINED OBJECTIVES, MAKE PREDICTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, OR DECISIONS INFLU-
 ENCING REAL OR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, AND THAT USES MACHINE-  AND  HUMAN-
 BASED  INPUTS  TO  PERCEIVE REAL AND VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS, ABSTRACT SUCH
 PERCEPTIONS INTO MODELS THROUGH ANALYSIS IN AN AUTOMATED MANNER, AND USE
 MODEL INFERENCE TO FORMULATE OPTIONS FOR INFORMATION OR ACTION.
   2. "AUTOMATED EMPLOYMENT DECISION-MAKING TOOL" SHALL MEAN ANY SOFTWARE
 THAT USES ALGORITHMS, COMPUTATIONAL MODELS, OR  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE
 TECHNIQUES,  OR A COMBINATION THEREOF, TO MATERIALLY AUTOMATE OR REPLACE
 HUMAN DECISION-MAKING REGARDING EMPLOYMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 WAGES AND OTHER COMPENSATION, HIRING, SELECTION FOR RECRUITMENT,  DISCI-
 PLINE, PROMOTION, AND TERMINATION. "AUTOMATED EMPLOYMENT DECISION-MAKING
 TOOL"  SHALL NOT INCLUDE ANY SOFTWARE USED PRIMARILY FOR BASIC COMPUTER-
 IZED PROCESSES, SUCH AS CALCULATORS, SPELLCHECK TOOLS, AUTOCORRECT FUNC-
 TIONS, SPREADSHEETS, ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS, OR ANY TOOL THAT RELATES
 ONLY TO INTERNAL MANAGEMENT AFFAIRS SUCH AS ORDERING OFFICE SUPPLIES  OR
 PROCESSING  PAYMENTS,  AND  THAT  DO  NOT  MATERIALLY AFFECT THE RIGHTS,
 LIBERTIES, BENEFITS, SAFETY OR WELFARE  OF  ANY  INDIVIDUAL  WITHIN  THE
 STATE.
   3.  "GENERATIVE  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE" MEANS A CLASS OF ARTIFICIAL
 INTELLIGENCE MODELS THAT ARE SELF-SUPERVISED AND EMULATE  THE  STRUCTURE
 AND CHARACTERISTICS OF INPUT DATA TO GENERATE DERIVED SYNTHETIC CONTENT,
 INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT  LIMITED TO, IMAGES, VIDEOS, AUDIO, TEXT, AND OTHER
 DIGITAL CONTENT.
   4. "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.
   § 1152. DISCLOSURE TO NEWS MEDIA WORKERS. NEWS MEDIA  EMPLOYERS  SHALL
 FULLY  DISCLOSE TO WORKERS WHEN AND HOW ANY GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTEL-
 LIGENCE TOOL IS USED IN THE WORKPLACE AS IT RELATES TO THE  CREATION  OF
 CONTENT,  INCLUDING,  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO, WRITING, RECORDINGS AND TRAN-
 SCRIPTS. SUCH DISCLOSURE SHALL INCLUDE A DESCRIPTION OF  THE  ARTIFICIAL
 INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM AND A SUMMARY OF THE PURPOSE AND USE OF SUCH SYSTEM.
   §  1153.  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
 S. 8451                             3
 
 GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. IF THE CONTENT IS ELIGIBLE FOR COPY-
 RIGHT REGISTRATION SUCH DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT SHALL NOT APPLY.
   §  1154.  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 INTEL-
 LIGENCE  SHALL  BE  REVIEWED  BY A HUMAN WORKER WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO
 APPROVE, DENY, OR MODIFY ANY DECISION RECOMMENDED OR MADE BY  THE  AUTO-
 MATED  SYSTEM  BEFORE  SUCH CONTENT MAY BE PUBLISHED WITH THE DISCLOSURE
 UNDER SECTION ELEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 1155. WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS.  1.  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 WORK-
 ER  WITHOUT NOTICE, CONSENT AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO BARGAIN OVER APPROPRI-
 ATE 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.
   2. (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 AGREE-
 MENT; 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.
   § 3. Section 79-h of the civil rights law is amended by adding  a  new
 subdivision (h) to read as follows:
   (H) EMPLOYERS OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AND NEWSCASTERS SHALL ESTAB-
 LISH SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT JOURNALISTIC SOURCES AND CONFIDENTIAL MATERI-
 ALS 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.
   § 4. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
 sion or section of this act shall be adjudged by any court of  competent
 jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or
 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation
 to the clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  subdivision  or  section  thereof
 directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
 that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid  provisions
 had not been included herein.
   §  5.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S8451

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8451

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Sponsored By

Patricia Fahy

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

co-Sponsors

Rachel May

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8451 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments