The statute is an ad rule, not a general AI label. A person who produces or creates a commercial advertisement, with actual knowledge, must conspicuously disclose in that advertisement that a synthetic performer is in it, when the ad reaches New York consumers — headquarters is not the test (nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/396-B). Penalties are a civil $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each one after, with no private right of action; commentators point at the NY Attorney General (AP, 9 June 2026). Audio-only ads, and AI used solely to translate a human performer, are out. So are animals, objects, and non-human imagery.
The definition is narrower than 'we used a model' and narrower than Article 50's deepfake. A generated street, an AI script, a music bed, an upscaled pack shot: not a synthetic performer. A generated presenter who is not a specific real person: yes. A digital twin of an identifiable person is a different legal object — likeness, consent, replica statutes — and this section does not cover it. Stylised still counts if the intended impression is a human performance.
Publishers and platforms that merely host the ad are carved out. The producer who made the file is not. A platform AI content label does not discharge the on-ad sentence. Stack it with any endorsement disclosure the spot also needs.
In practice
- If you generated the on-screen person, you have actual knowledge. Log that at generate time, not at final review.
- Disclose in the ad. A Studio toggle and a caption hashtag are not the statute's object.
- Do not file a real-person replica under this heading. That is a different duty.
The mistake to avoid
Reading 'synthetic performer' as any AI in the spot, or as a deepfake of a named person. The statute is a generated human who is nobody in particular, in an advertisement.
Go deeper
New York's synthetic performer ad disclosure
Since 9 June 2026, ads reaching New York consumers with a synthetic human performer need a conspicuous disclosure. Scope, exemption and penalties.
Related terms
Deepfake
A deepfake, in Article 50, is AI audio, image or video that resembles real people, places or events and would appear authentic to a person.
AI content label
AI content label meaning: a platform or creator tag that marks a post as made or altered with AI. Separate from paid-endorsement disclosure.
Article 50
Article 50 of the EU AI Act is the 2 August 2026 transparency rule: labels on certain AI interactions, synthetic media, and public-interest AI text.
Conspicuous disclosure
Conspicuous disclosure is New York's 'difficult to miss' bar for synthetic-performer ads: the notice has to be in the ad, not buried in a caption pile.
Spark Ads
Spark Ads meaning: TikTok budget behind an existing post (yours or a creator's) so paid reach keeps the real likes, comments, and shares.
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