New York State lawmakers have introduced new legislation to establish new AI-related protections for journalists and the public.
The New York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act (The NY FAIR News Act), which was unveiled by Democrat Senator Patricia Fahy and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, requires clear disclaimers when artificial intelligence is used in any published news content.
It also mandates that news organizations operating in New York fully disclose to journalists and media professionals how and when AI is used in the workplace and that all news stories, articles, audio, visuals or images created by AI must first reviewed by a human employee with editorial control before publication. Additionally, it establishes safeguards to protect journalist sources and confidential materials from being accessed by an AI system.
“Perhaps one of the industries at most risk from the use of artificial intelligence is journalism and as a result, the public’s trust and confidence in accurate news reporting,” Fahy said in a statement.“More than 76% of Americans are concerned about AI stealing or reproducing journalism and local news stories, as AI continues to reshape our daily lives and careers across industries. To protect the public’s trust in reporting and the news they read everyday and the journalists who do the work, I’m proud to introduce the NY FAIR News Act with Assemblymember Rozic, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the State Senate to enact common sense guidelines that protect New Yorkers from the unintended consequences of AI.”
“At the center of the news industry, New York has a strong interest in preserving journalism and protecting the workers who produce it,” Rozic added. “The NY FAIR News Act promotes journalistic integrity and ensures total AI-disclosure to journalists, workers, and the public alike.”
The bill has been referred to the NYS Senate’s Internet and Technology Committee. In order to become law, the bill must pass through both the state Senate and Assembly and be signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The NY FAIR News Act has been endorsed by the New York State AFL-CIO, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the NewsGuild of New York.
“Journalists follow ethical and professional standards to hold power to account and document the fullness of human expression. We want our readers to trust in the work we do. Media company executives, on the other hand, believe they can escape accountability by bypassing these same standards and avoiding transparency when it comes to artificial intelligence,” NewsGuild of New York president Susan DeCarava said in a statement. “That’s precisely why the unethical and secretive use of generative AI in media is such a threat to journalism, and by extension, our nation’s democratic processes.
DeCarava added that the legislation would “safeguard the public’s right to know what is being done in their name” and is “necessary to protect and expand the public’s trust, built by media workers across the country and in our union, in human-powered journalism.”
WGA East president Tom Fontana warned that AI presents a “clear and demonstrable threat to the integrity of the news” and said the new legislation would require “cooperation between news media companies and the highly skilled human workers they employee to uphold journalistic standards and workplace protections.”
New York State AFL-CIO president Mario Cilento said the legislation would “uphold journalists’ credibility, safeguard the integrity of news reporting, and strengthen public trust.”
“As AI technology continues to evolve rapidly, we must put in place stronger safeguards to protect workers and ensure oversight and transparency when it is used,” Cilento added. “These common-sense guardrails are essential for a healthy democracy.”
SAG-AFTRA chief labor policy officer Rebecca Damon said the legislation is a “meaningful, enforceable protection for both journalists and consumers of news media” that would “maintain the integrity of journalism, and help ensure that AI technology is a tool that serves the people who report the news to the public, not one that replaces or exploits them.”
The DGA’s associate national executive director Neil Dudich said the New York FAIR News Act “puts media professionals at the center of the conversation about how AI will be used in newsrooms” and establishes “clear guardrails that protect workers’ rights and their professional judgment.”
“When the professionals who work in news are protected, the quality and credibility of journalism are protected as well,” Dudich added.
