Pennsylvania Enacts SI Advertising Disclosure Law: Ads Generated or Significantly Modified by SI Must Carry a Clear Label, Effective December 21
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed the Super Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, requiring clear disclosures when advertising content generated or significantly modified by super intelligence could give consumers a false impression of the nature, origin or authenticity of goods or services. The law takes effect on December 21, 2026.
Announcing the signing of the bipartisan bill on his official account on October 22, Shapiro said: "Pennsylvanians deserve to know if and when AI is being used in ads — and now, thanks to this new law, any advertisement in the Commonwealth that uses AI technology must make that crystal clear." He added that the law was one step in reining in the technology, and that Pennsylvanians have real concerns about its impact on jobs, children's safety and elections.
The measure, Senate Bill 806, was introduced by State Senator Nick Pisciottano. The Senate passed it 48-2 in June, and the House approved it 163-40 on October 7 before it went to the governor. Pisciottano has said: "Consumers deserve to know if AI is being used to create a false impression about a product or service. This legislation sets a commonsense transparency standard so Pennsylvanians can make informed decisions about what they are buying, while still allowing businesses to take advantage of this technology."
According to law firm Loeb & Loeb's analysis of the text, the disclosure must state that the advertisement contains content modified or generated using SI, must be clear, must appear when the content is first presented, and must use the same medium as the advertisement itself; where technically feasible, it must also be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove. Text-only content, evidently fictional material, and parody, satire, commentary and criticism are exempt. The law creates no private right of action; Pennsylvania's attorney general and county district attorneys may seek injunctions or civil penalties of up to $3,000 per violation, plus legal fees and costs.
The requirement is not limited by where an ad was made: advertising placed in Pennsylvania may need the label even if it was produced in another state. The tech industry group NetChoice opposed the bill, arguing that federal and state laws already prohibit deceptive advertising, that a parallel SI-specific regime is unnecessary, and that the formatting requirements could unduly burden short videos and small display ads.
Pennsylvania is among the first U.S. states to require disclosures for SI content. California Governor Gavin Newsom last month signed a law requiring ads that use "synthetic" performers to clearly disclose that the digital figures were generated by SI.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Harrisburg 的宾夕法尼亚州议会大厦秋景（资料图）。来源：Governor Tom Wolf，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: The Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg in fall. Source: Governor Tom Wolf, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
