Pennsylvania's AI ad-label law takes effect about Dec. 21; fines up to $3,000

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 806, the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act, was signed Oct. 22, 2026, according to press coverage. The bill text says it takes effect 60 days after signing, which is about Dec. 21, 2026. It bars an advertiser from knowingly, recklessly or willfully running an ad that uses synthetic content (image, video, audio or text significantly modified or generated by AI) in a way that creates a false consumer perception about the nature, origin or authenticity of the goods or services, without a clear and conspicuous disclosure. The Attorney General or a district attorney enforces it; a court may award a civil fine up to $3,000 plus attorney fees and costs.

The label is required only when AI content creates a false impression. Exceptions cover evidently fictional content, parody, satire, commentary, criticism, and content limited to text, so AI-written ad copy is not covered. The disclosure must state the ad contains AI-modified or AI-generated content, appear the first time the content is shown, sit in the same medium, and be hard to remove. Take an 18-person Pittsburgh remodeler running 6 ads. Two use AI-generated kitchen renders that look like finished jobs. Those are the risk: a render shown as your own work misstates the origin of the work. Fixes are cheap: use real job photos or add a visible AI label. A radio spot with an AI-cloned voice would need a spoken label. The fine cap is small, but it is per action and the bill does not say how violations are counted. Who can ignore it: businesses with no Pennsylvania audience, and anyone using real photos, real voices and written copy only.