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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallNot yet. New York’s synthetic-performer advertising law took effect on June 9, 2026, and requires a conspicuous disclosure when a covered commercial advertisement contains a defined synthetic performer and the person creating or producing the ad has actual knowledge of it. Australia has no equivalent general labelling duty established in the sources reviewed. Australian campaigns are still governed by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL): misleading or deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations are prohibited whether advertising was made with artificial intelligence or any other technology. That means an Australian business may need to explain an AI-generated person when silence, presentation or an unqualified claim creates a misleading overall impression, but AI use alone does not automatically trigger a disclosure.
What New York’s law does
New York General Business Law § 396-b(3) applies to a person who is in the business of dealing in property or services and, for a commercial purpose, produces or creates an advertisement about that property or service. The rule covers the medium in which the advertisement appears, rather than limiting itself to cinema or television.
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When that person has actual knowledge that the advertisement contains a statutory “synthetic performer”, the person must conspicuously disclose that fact. The law was signed in December 2025 and became effective June 9, 2026. A first violation carries a $1,000 civil penalty; each subsequent violation carries $5,000.
| Question | New York answer |
|---|---|
| Who has the duty? | The person engaged in dealing in the advertised property or service who creates or produces the commercial ad. |
| What triggers it? | Actual knowledge that a defined synthetic performer appears in the ad. |
| Where does it apply? | Any advertising medium covered by the statute, including digital placements and social platforms when they are commercial advertisements. |
| What must be done? | Conspicuously disclose that a synthetic performer is present. |
| Penalty? | $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each subsequent violation. |
| When did it start? | June 9, 2026; the current statutory text is displayed with a June 12, 2026 revision date. |
The statute says “conspicuously disclose” but the enacted text reviewed does not prescribe a fixed phrase, font size, screen duration or position. Advertisers should not import wording from an earlier proposal or from another bill and present it as a statutory requirement.
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What counts as a “synthetic performer”?
The definition is narrower than “anything made with AI.” A synthetic performer is a digitally created asset, or an asset reproduced or modified by a computer using generative AI or a software algorithm, that is intended to create the impression that it is engaging in a visual or audiovisual performance of a human performer who is not recognisable as an identifiable natural performer.
That wording focuses on the apparent human performance. A generated spokesperson, virtual actor or computer-created person designed to look as though a real but unidentifiable human is speaking or acting is the clearest example. By contrast, an AI tool used only to clean audio, resize an image, suggest advertising copy, optimise audience targeting or generate a non-human background is not automatically a synthetic performer under this definition.
- Likely within the definition: a digitally generated person delivering a product endorsement; a computer-modified performer intended to appear as a human actor; or a virtual presenter whose performance is presented as human-like.
- Not automatically within it: ordinary editing, translation, copy assistance, data-driven ad placement, a generated landscape, or an obviously non-human graphic that is not presented as a human performer.
- Key limitation: the asset must be intended to create the impression of a visual or audiovisual performance by a human performer who is not recognisable as an identifiable natural person.
The definition and the actual-knowledge trigger should be analysed separately. An agency may have used an AI system, but the statutory question is whether the responsible person knew that the ad contained an asset meeting this definition. Businesses should preserve production records, vendor disclosures and approval notes so that the knowledge question can be answered rather than guessed after publication.
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The rule is tied to a commercial advertisement concerning property or services and uses the phrase “in any medium”. It is therefore not restricted to film and television, even though New York’s public announcement highlighted the film and television industry. Depending on the facts, a paid social video, display creative, online marketplace placement, streaming spot, billboard or other commercial format could be an advertisement in a covered medium.
The statute’s wording points to the person producing or creating the ad, not automatically every platform that hosts it. It also does not turn every appearance of an AI-generated character into an advertising violation. The commercial purpose, the advertised property or service, the responsible actor’s role and actual knowledge all matter.
For a campaign running in several countries, an Australian business should identify where the ad is created, who is legally responsible for the creative, which audience receives it and whether New York law is engaged. A campaign can be subject to more than one jurisdiction’s rules; compliance with an Australian standard does not, by itself, answer the New York disclosure question.
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Exceptions written into the New York statute
New York does not apply the disclosure duty to every use of a synthetic performer. The statute states exceptions for the following situations:
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- Audio advertisements: the provision excludes audio ads.
- Translation only: the provision excludes an ad where AI is used solely to translate a human performer’s language.
The law also says it does not limit or enlarge certain rights under New York’s Civil Rights Law or other law, and it preserves protections that Section 230 provides to covered interactive computer services. Those are statutory-construction provisions, not a blanket immunity for an advertiser, agency or platform. Other laws can still apply to an ad that falls within an exception.
Does New York require a particular label?
No particular wording is stated in the enacted section reviewed. “Conspicuously” is a visibility standard, not a prescribed design specification. A sensible compliance process should make the disclosure easy to notice in the same context as the synthetic performance, avoid burying it in a terms-of-use page, and keep it readable on the smallest screen where the ad will run. Those are risk-management choices; they should not be described as exact statutory font or placement rules.
Because the law does not provide a safe-harbour phrase, businesses should document why their wording and placement are conspicuous for each format. A disclosure that is visible in a desktop video may be obscured by a mobile interface, a short social clip or a cropped retail placement. Creative, legal and media teams should review the final rendered version, not just a master file.
What Australian businesses must do today
Australia’s current baseline is the ACL, not a New York-style synthetic-performer label mandate. The Australian Treasury’s final Review of AI and the Australian Consumer Law states: “The provisions of the ACL which prohibit misleading or deceptive conduct and false and misleading representations apply regardless of the technology through which the advertising is used or enabled.” Businesses using AI in advertising must take the steps needed to uphold those standards.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) adds two practical points. Silence can be misleading in some circumstances, particularly when a business provides information but omits an important detail relevant to a consumer’s decision. And fine print or qualifications must not conflict with the advertisement’s overall message. These principles do not mean that every AI-assisted ad must announce its production method. They mean that the consumer’s likely understanding, the claims made and the information left out must be assessed together.
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Questions for the ACL review
- What does the ad’s overall presentation lead a reasonable consumer to believe about the person, endorsement, demonstration or experience shown?
- Is a human identity, qualification, testimonial or performance being implied when no such person exists?
- Would knowledge that the performer is synthetic materially affect the consumer’s decision?
- Do disclaimers, captions or fine print clarify the message, or are they too small, late or contradictory to correct it?
- Are performance, safety, availability or product results represented as if they came from a real user or professional?
Whether disclosure is required in a particular Australian campaign depends on the claims, presentation, context and applicable law. The reviewed Australian materials do not establish a general rule that every synthetic performer must be labelled.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.New York and Australia: the same campaign, different legal tests
| Compliance question | New York § 396-b | Australian ACL approach |
|---|---|---|
| Is AI use itself the trigger? | No. The ad must contain a defined synthetic performer, and the responsible person must have actual knowledge. | No. Technology-neutral prohibitions focus on misleading conduct and representations. |
| Is there a specific disclosure duty? | Yes, when the statutory conditions are met, subject to stated exceptions. | No equivalent general synthetic-performer duty is established in the reviewed sources. |
| Does medium matter? | The statute says any medium, subject to the commercial-ad conditions. | The medium and context affect the consumer’s overall impression and decision. |
| How are omissions treated? | The statute’s express trigger is synthetic-performer disclosure; other laws may address omissions. | Silence can be misleading when important decision-relevant information is omitted. |
| How are qualifications judged? | The statute reviewed does not specify label design details. | Fine print cannot conflict with the ad’s overall message. |
Do not collapse these tests into one rule. A New York-compliant disclosure may help an Australian campaign communicate clearly, but it does not cure an exaggerated product claim. Conversely, an Australian ad may avoid a misleading impression while still needing a New York disclosure if the statutory conditions are met.
A practical cross-border compliance workflow
- Map the campaign. List every creative, cut-down, caption, influencer version, landing page and placement. Record the countries, audiences and publication dates.
- Classify the asset. Ask whether each apparent person is digitally created, reproduced or modified by generative AI or software, and whether it is intended to look like a human performance by an unidentifiable natural performer.
- Identify the responsible creator. Determine which business or agency is producing or creating the commercial advertisement and who is dealing in the advertised property or service.
- Record knowledge and approvals. Keep prompts, vendor statements, model outputs, editing logs and sign-offs. Escalate uncertainty instead of assuming that an unfamiliar production tool is irrelevant.
- Test New York conditions. Check actual knowledge, commercial purpose, medium and each statutory exception. If all required conditions are present, add a conspicuous disclosure to the final creative.
- Test the Australian impression. Review the headline, visual, voice, endorsement, omissions and qualifications as a consumer would see them. Remove or clarify anything that implies a real person, experience or result that does not exist.
- Check the rendered ad. Inspect mobile and desktop versions, autoplay, captions, cropping, audio-off playback and short-duration placements. Confirm that any disclosure remains noticeable and readable.
- Monitor changes. A translated version, new cut, different targeting or platform-specific crop can change both the New York analysis and the Australian consumer impression.
What the ACCC’s enforcement record signals
The ACCC’s reported $14 million penalty concerning misleading water-resistance claims against Samsung Electronics Australia is not an AI case. It is useful because it shows that Australian consumer-law enforcement can impose substantial consequences when advertising creates a misleading impression. The example should not be read as a prediction of an equivalent penalty for synthetic performers; the amount, conduct and legal findings were specific to that proceeding.
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For AI-enabled campaigns, the practical lesson is governance. Keep evidence for the claims made, the basis for demonstrations, the identity or non-identity of featured people, the treatment of qualifications and the approvals given before publication. If a regulator asks how an ad was produced and what consumers were expected to understand, a documented process is more defensible than an assertion that “the tool did it.”
Could Australia adopt a New York-style rule?
It is a policy possibility, not an enacted Australian requirement established by the current sources. New York’s model offers a specific answer to a specific concern: consumers should be told when a human-looking performer in a commercial ad is synthetic. Australian policymakers could choose a similar targeted duty, amend existing consumer-law guidance, or rely on the technology-neutral ACL. None of those outcomes should be presented as settled.
Until legislation or binding guidance changes, Australian businesses should avoid two opposite errors. Treating every AI-assisted production as automatically unlawful overstates the ACL. Treating synthetic human endorsements as risk-free because no dedicated label rule exists ignores the ACL’s focus on overall impression, omissions and consumer decisions.
Quick Recap
Quick decision checklist
- Does the creative show a digitally created or computer-modified human-like performer?
- Is the performer intended to appear to be a human who is not an identifiable natural person?
- Is the content a commercial advertisement for property or services?
- Does the responsible creator have actual knowledge of the synthetic performer?
- Could an expressive-work, audio-ad or translation-only exception apply in New York?
- Will the campaign reach New York audiences or be created by a person subject to the New York rule?
- What would an Australian consumer infer from the whole ad, including what it leaves unsaid?
- Do qualifications clarify rather than contradict the main message?
- Have all versions been checked after platform cropping, translation and targeting changes?
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