Schatz, Curtis, Warner Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Provide More Transparency On AI-Generated Content

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), John Curtis (R-Utah), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide more transparency on digital content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The bill will help ensure people know when they are viewing AI-made content or interacting with an AI chatbot by requiring clear labels and disclosures.

“People deserve to know whether the videos, photos, and content they see and read online are real or not,” said Senator Schatz. “Our bill is simple – if any digital content is made by AI, it should be labeled so that people are aware and aren’t fooled or scammed.”

“As AI-generated content becomes more refined and realistic, people deserve to know whether what they’re seeing is created by a human or generated by artificial intelligence,” said Senator Curtis. “Our bipartisan AI Labeling Act establishes clear, commonsense transparency standards that help consumers make informed decisions, promote trust in digital content, and discourage bad actors from using AI to deceive the public.”

The AI Labeling Act will:

• Require both visible and machine-readable disclosures identifying AI-generated digital content, including image, video, or audio content;
• Require AI developers and all major social media platforms to collaborate to ensure users can identify the authenticity of shared content; and
• Establish a working group to create technical standards so users and social media platforms can identify AI-generated content and support content provenance.

“Jurisdictions around the globe are moving to adopt common-sense rules around labeling AI-generated content – it’s time for the U.S. to catch up and in fact lead the world with a disclosure and anti-circumvention model that should be the global standard,” said Senator Warner.

In May 2023, an AI-generated photo of an explosion near the Pentagon went viral, triggering a dip in the stock market. Deepfake images of President Trump being arrested were viewed by millions on social media, demonstrating the types of manipulation we could see during elections. And fraudsters are already abusing AI systems to generate scam calls, impersonating a loved one’s voice and scamming Americans out of their hard-earned money. As generative AI becomes increasingly convincing and widespread, it is critical that companies take steps to ensure that American consumers can identify AI-generated content.

The AI Labeling Act is endorsed by the American Society for Collective Rights Licensing INC (ASCRL); Authors Guild; Common Cause; Consumer Action; Consumer Federation of America (CFA); Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE); International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE); Music Creators North America (MCNA); National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA); National Consumers League (NCL); Public Citizen; SAG-AFTRA; Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL); Songwriters Guild of America (SGA); Writers' Guild of America East (WGAE).

“The National Association of Voice Actors proudly supports the AI Labeling Act. Audiences deserve to know what is real, ensuring consumers can make informed decisions about the content they engage with. Voice actors are already seeing their voices cloned, synthesized, and deployed without any clear disclosure. For audiences and voice actors, transparency is fundamental to protecting trust and preserving the value of human performance while creating a marketplace where authenticity is not left to guesswork. The AI Labeling Act takes an important step toward that goal by establishing clear disclosure and provenance requirements for AI-generated content. We thank Senators Schatz and Curtis for their leadership and look forward to working with Congress to move this legislation forward,” said Tim Friedlander, President and Co-Founder, National Association of Voice Actors.

"The Authors Guild applauds Senators Schatz and Curtis for reintroducing the AI Labeling Act. Readers deserve to know whether what they're reading was written by a human author or generated by a machine. As generative AI floods the market with synthetic books and articles, clear and conspicuous labeling is essential to protecting both the integrity of authorship and the public's trust in what they read. We are proud to endorse this commonsense, bipartisan bill,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO, The Authors Guild.

"AI-generated deception is becoming a routine part of everyday life. Deepfakes and synthetic media increasingly appear in our social media, political discourse, and even messages shared by trusted friends and family. Americans shouldn't have to play detective every time they open a text, scroll through a newsfeed, or watch a video online. The AI Labeling Act is a commonsense transparency measure that helps restore trust in our information ecosystem by ensuring consumers can identify AI-generated content. In a world where seeing is no longer believing, transparency becomes the prerequisite for trust, accountability, and an informed public,” said J.B. Branch, AI Governance and Technology Policy Counsel, Public Citizen.

The full text of the bill is available here.

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