A bill passed overwhelmingly by the state legislature with little debate targets the press over the use of artificial intelligence. Supporters say it’s aimed at rogue publishers, but critics say it’s unconstitutional and poses a threat to legitimate news outlets.
Government regulation of speech and the dissemination of news and opinion is prohibited by the First Amendment and numerous court cases from the Supreme Court on down.
New York lawmakers have other thoughts.
The state Senate and Assembly passed companion bills in the waning days and hours of the recently concluded legislative session that seek to require publishers and broadcasters to disclose and label content generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
State Sen. Patricia Fahy insists her bill is not aimed at mainstream news outlets such as daily newspapers, NPR outlets and commercial television newsrooms. Rather, she said, it targets “fly-by-night” digital outlets that use AI to spread disinformation or pirate and misrepresent content from legitimate news outlets.
Fahy contends the legislation “protects journalism in the long run,” she said in an interview with Investigative Post. We think this is going to have extraordinary ramifications.”
Others say the language of the bills is vague and represents a slippery slope that could be used by the government to undermine legitimate news organizations.
Steven Brill, co-CEO of NewsGuard, which fights abuses of artificial intelligence and disinformation on the World Wide Web, termed the legislation “obviously unconstitutional” and vulnerable to a legal challenge.
“We all agree certain content is bad, but the solution isn’t government regulation.”
The legislation, dubbed the FAIR News Act, requires outlets to disclose content “substantially composed, authored, or otherwise created through the use of generative artificial intelligence.” It mandates the labeling of such content at the top of a print or digital story or the beginning of audio or video content.
The legislation authorizes the state attorney general to determine what content is substantially created by AI and thus requires labeling. It calls for fines for failure to properly disclose — $1,000 for the first infraction, $5,000 for subsequent ones.
Fahy said the legislation protects legitimate news outlets because it exempts copyrighted content, which she said governs the work of mainstream publishers and broadcasters. But the press release issued by her office hailing adoption of the legislation casts a net that appears to ensnare all news media. No mention is made of reining in rogue outlets.
“The legislation mandates that news organizations operating in New York fully disclose to the public when they use generative AI to create news content, articles, or media,” according to the press release.
Accompanying statements from labor leaders who support the legislation cast it in terms of job protection or directed at mainstream news outlets.
“If media bosses want to use artificial intelligence in news gathering and analysis, then it must be under terms that are ethical, transparent, and enforceable,” said Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York.
Joseph Finnerty, a media law attorney, said copyright of news content is a “complicated legal question” and does not provide “a reliable benchmark for editors to determine when they might be a risk under this statute.”
Brill added that illegitimate news websites can also copyright their content.
“Copyright also protects the bad guys,” he said, rendering the legislation’s copyright exemption “harmless and meaningless.”
Brill also expressed concern with granting the attorney general the power to determine when content is substantially composed by AI and not protected by copyright. An “abusive attorney general” could use it to punish legitimate news outlets, he said.
Finnerty noted that news outlets are working to establish AI policies that promote transparency with readers and viewers.
“All news organizations want to be transparent about its use,” he said. “They don’t want to use AI to create content, but rather use it to collect and analyze data and perform other tasks that help journalists do their jobs.”
Diane Kennedy, president of the New York News Publishers Association, a trade group that represents daily and weekly newspapers across the state, wrote in a memorandum of opposition to Fahey’s bill: “No newspaper would be safe from investigation under this legislation.”
Another coalition of publishers cited legal precedents in opposing the legislation. Another coalition, which includes the New York State Broadcasters Association, wrote that the bills if enacted would “send a chill through every newsroom and social media platform in New York State.”
Brill and Finnerty said the legislation runs afoul of the First Amendment, which prohibits both suppressing and compelling speech.
“It’s compelling news organizations to publish speech the government wants them to publish,” said Finnerty, whose clients include Scripps Media, Lee Enterprises and Investigative Post.
Brill added the provision to label content as generated by AI is “unconstitutional because it is forced speech.”
Fahy, a Democrat who represents Albany and communities west of the capital, said she is “surprised and disappointed” at the criticism.
“We’ve had extraordinary support on this,” she said.
Indeed, organized labor has lobbied hard for the legislation, which originally would have strengthened the hands of unions when negotiating terms and conditions involving AI. The language was later removed from the bill. Supporters range from the state AFL-CIO and Communications Workers of America to the NewsGuild and Writers Guild of America.
Finnerty said the fear of job losses due to AI is driving union support for the legislation.
“It’s a legitimate issue,” he said.
But he criticized lawmakers for “trying to pander to special interests” and “gambling with constitutional rights and the survival of news organizations.
“It’s legislation at its worst.”
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The bills were approved 53 to 7 in the Senate and 130 to 1 in the Assembly, with 19 members marked as absent and excused.
Three members of the Western New York delegation co-sponsored the legislation, April Baskin in the Senate and Jonathan Rivera and Patrick Burke in the Assembly. All but two members of the delegation voted in favor of the legislation. Only Senator George Borrello voted no, while Assembly Member Angelo Morinello was marked as excused from voting.
When questioned, Fahy said neither the Senate nor the Assembly considered the legislation in committee or held any public hearings. The Senate approved the bill, with some debate, on June 3, two days before lawmakers recessed. The Assembly passed the bill without debate in the final hour of the session’s last day, June 5.
The legislation is not a fait accompli. It requires sign-off by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Her position on the legislation is unknown.
Kennedy, of the publishers association, said she’ll encourage Hochul to veto the measure. In her memo of opposition, she noted “nearly 40 percent of New York’s newspapers have closed.”
“It seems the state Legislature could better spend its resources to help preserve newspapers rather than attempting to regulate them into scaling back the information they have always had the right to publish.”
posted 30 minutes ago – June 15, 2026