Pennsylvania enacted disclosure rules for certain AI-generated or significantly modified advertisements.
Why it matters: The law applies to advertising distributed in Pennsylvania, affecting advertisers, agencies, platforms and publishers. It targets content that creates a false perception about a product or service, rather than every use of AI in advertising.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 806, now Act 99, on October 22, 2026; the law takes effect December 21.
- The law covers synthetic images, video, audio and text significantly modified or generated by AI when they create a false perception about advertised goods or services.
- Disclosures must appear when the content is first presented and be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove when technically feasible.
- The attorney general and appropriate district attorneys may seek injunctions and civil fines of up to $3,000 per violation.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 806, the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, making it Act 99 of 2026. The law takes effect 60 days after enactment, on December 21, 2026. The statutory text applies to advertising that uses synthetic content, including an image, video, audio clip or text significantly modified or generated by AI.
The trigger is narrower than any use of AI. A disclosure is required when the synthetic content creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the advertised goods or services. The law does not set a quantitative threshold for "significantly modified," leaving questions about routine editing, retouching, product visualization and AI-assisted copy.
The disclosure must say the advertisement contains content modified or generated using AI. It must appear the first time the synthetic content is presented, use the same medium and, when technically feasible, be permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove. It must also be clear and conspicuous - noticeable, readable, understandable and audible where applicable.
The statute expressly exempts text-only content, even though its definition of synthetic content includes text. In practical terms, an advertisement consisting only of text is exempt under that provision. The law separately exempts evidently fictional content, parody, satire, commentary and criticism.
The statute authorizes Pennsylvania's attorney general and appropriate district attorneys to seek temporary or permanent injunctions and bring civil actions. It allows courts to award up to $3,000 per violation, plus actual attorney fees and court costs. The same statutory provisions do not create a private right of action, meaning the text does not expressly authorize an individual to sue under this law. The law also preserves other remedies, so adding a disclosure would not by itself cure an otherwise deceptive advertisement. Loeb & Loeb's analysis said, "A label saying AI was used wouldn't fix it."
The law does not specify whether the advertiser, agency, platform or publisher must apply the disclosure when several parties handle an advertisement. It also does not expressly address political advertising. Those provisions may raise questions about responsibility, the meaning of "significantly modified" and whether required disclosures compel commercial speech - a legal term for government-mandated statements in business communications. The materials provided do not establish how a court would resolve those questions.
By the numbers
- 60 days - time between enactment and the law's December 21, 2026 effective date
- $3,000 - maximum civil fine per violation under the statute
- 4 formats - images, video, audio and text are included in the synthetic-content definition
Yes, but: The law's text-only exemption is categorical as written, but the statute leaves unresolved how regulators and courts will apply terms such as "significantly modified" and assign disclosure responsibility across advertisers, agencies, platforms and publishers.
What's next: Act 99 takes effect December 21, 2026.