Keeping It Real: New York’s ‘Synthetic Performer’ Law Takes The Stage, Published in New York Law Journal

In an article published on June 20 in the New York Law Journal, Segal McCambridge Shareholder Carla Varriale-Barker and Associate Phillip J. Miller discuss New York’s recently amended General Business Law Section 396-b, a synthetic performer law requiring the disclosure of AI-generated performers in advertising. The article examines how this law may affect the use of AI-generated content in commercial media and what businesses should keep in mind as enforcement and interpretation evolve.  

“Although the application of the synthetic performer law is a work in progress, it represents a step toward balancing the interests of consumers and creatives and the need to keep pace with rapidly evolving technological innovations,” Varriale-Barker and Miller explain. “The advertising, film, and television industries should be aware of the contours of the first-of-its-kind synthetic performer law and how to avoid running afoul of it.”  

Varriale-Barker and Miller explain that the law applies to advertisers who produce or create advertisements containing synthetic performers, provided the advertiser has actual knowledge of their use. They also outline exemptions for certain expressive works, audio-only advertisements, and AI use solely for language translation of a human performer.  

“The synthetic performer law puts New York at the forefront of responsible innovation, balancing the need to harness technology with the desire to protect New York's consumers and creative workforce,” write Varriale-Barker and Miller. “It also breathes new life into the concept of truth in advertising.” 

Read the article in full, click here (subscriber-based).