Seen an ad with an AI influencer or actor? It may be against the law.

In June, a new law went into effect in New York state that requires companies to disclose when they use AI-generated models or actors in advertisements. And now, just a few months after it went into effect, the state is seeing its first complaints reporting advertisers for allegedly running afoul of the law.

In total, four complaints have been filed since the law went into effect, the New York attorney general's office told Mashable. All four are currently under review by the AG.

New York's Synthetic Performers law is the first of its kind in the United States, and with growing anti-AI sentiment , it likely won't be the last. In fact, companies that use AI actors or influencers to promote products without disclosure could also be violating federal law, though the Trump administration has so far taken a hands-off approach to AI regulation.

The first two  anonymous complaints  under the New York law, which accuse two companies of using synthetic models or performers in their ads without disclosure, were recently obtained and published by  Straight Arrow News . The first complaint alleges that "premium performance wear brand" Athletifreak used AI-generated models when promoting the clothing company's products. The complaint includes numerous screenshots taken from Athletifreak's website.

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The second complaint sent to the New York attorney general points the finger at London-based eyewear company Bloobloom. The complaint alleges that Bloobloom is running advertisements on social media that use synthetic performers and target New York residents.

Both complaints were sent in June, shortly after the law went into effect.

“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on June 9 when the law went into effect. “Requiring simple, honest disclosure when an ad uses synthetic performers protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation.”

And New York's law did set the rules of the road. The state requires any company that does business in New York to abide by the Synthetic Performers law. If they don't, companies can face fines of $1,00 for a first offense and up to $5,000 for repeat offenses.

Last month, Amazon announced a new requirement for third-party sellers on its platform, stating that they must disclose when AI is used in product images and videos on their listings.

“Recent legislation requires disclosure when images or videos in advertisements contain photorealistic AI-generated people,” Amazon told sellers, referring to the New York state law.

While the New York law is an example of regulation that's welcomed by AI safety advocates and critics of the technology, what about federal regulations that protect consumers?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has long had existing rules barring companies from posting fake reviews and testimonials of their products or services. A few years ago, the FTC updated its fake reviews and testimonials rules to explicitly cover AI-generated content.

Violating the FTC's rules results in a financial penalty much larger than New York state's law. The maximum fine from the FTC could be a whopping $51,744 per violation .

Mashable previously reached out to the FTC to ask if AI-generated actors and influencers could violate its regulations prohibiting fake reviews and testimonials.

"If there is an AI-created individual who is essentially playing the same function as a human actor in a commercial, and it is obvious that the speaker is merely an actor, that may be perfectly fine," an FTC spokesperson told us regarding synthetic performers. "If the AI-generated individual is providing a testimonial (which would necessarily be fake) or claiming to have specific expertise (such as a medical degree or license or financial experience) that affects consumers’ perception of the speaker’s credibility, that may be deceptive and could violate both the FTC Act and also the Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials."

With that said, the FTC recently issued an AI policy statement that suggested that "anti-innovation states" like New York lack the authority to enact AI laws like this.

"Importantly, President Trump’s proposed approach is a national AI framework, protecting innovation and competition by providing national regulatory clarity and certainty and avoiding a balkanized or patchwork regulatory approach driven by the states — or, most dangerously, imposed by certain anti-innovation state governments on the rest of the country," reads the FTC's July 1 AI statement . "America’s AI Action Plan and other critical executive actions strike that balance between accelerating innovation and protecting Americans, but anti-innovation states’ recent efforts to regulate AI are concerning."

If the FTC moves to strike state laws prohibiting deceptive AI ads — but doesn't step up its own enforcement in any way — that could clear the path for a lot of sketchiness in advertising . Already, companies are openly advertising services to create "AI influencers" to promote products.

For now, states like New York are stepping up AI regulation, likely because of the Trump administration's hands-off approach to AI regulation. And the four complaints submitted under New York's law are likely just the beginning as awareness of New York's new AI advertisement regulation spreads.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Mashable. Open at source →