[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4915 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4915
To require disclosures for covered AI-generated content, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2026
Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Curtis, and Mr. Warner) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require disclosures for covered AI-generated content, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``AI Labeling Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES FOR COVERED AI-GENERATED CONTENT.
(a) Requirements for Providers of Generative Artificial
Intelligence Systems That Produce Covered AI-Generated Content.--
(1) In general.--Each provider of a generative artificial
intelligence system that, using any means or facility of
interstate or foreign commerce, produces covered AI-generated
content shall do the following:
(A) Labeling.--The provider shall label the covered
AI-generated content with a clear and conspicuous
disclosure that--
(i) identifies that the output includes
covered AI-generated content;
(ii) to the extent technically and
economically feasible, is accessible to
individuals with disabilities; and
(iii) is embedded in the content.
(B) Machine-readable disclosure.--
(i) In general.--The provider shall bind or
embed within the covered AI-generated content a
machine-readable disclosure that, at a
minimum--
(I) identifies--
(aa) the content that is
covered AI-generated content;
(bb) the system and the
version used to create or
modify the covered AI-generated
content;
(cc) the date and time the
covered AI-generated content
was created or modified; and
(dd) any other relevant
information; and
(II) conforms to or is
interoperable with the standards
specified by the Commission and the
Working Group established under section
7.
(ii) Clarification.--The disclosure
required under clause (i) shall not be required
to include the personally identifiable
information of the user of the generative
artificial intelligence system.
(C) Detection.--The provider shall ensure that a
user or covered online platform can detect, without
undue financial burden, that the output generated by
the provider's generative artificial intelligence
system includes covered AI-generated content and view
information required under subparagraph (B) by--
(i) ensuring that the covered AI-generated
content is detectable by one or more widely
available detection tools and making available
to users or covered online platforms clear
instructions on how to access and operate such
tools; or
(ii) if no such detection tool exists,
providing to users and covered online platforms
access to a tool to enable detection of covered
AI-generated content and providing clear
instructions on how to access and operate such
tool.
(D) Collaboration with covered online platforms.--
The provider shall collaborate with any covered online
platform to assist the covered online platform in
complying with the obligations described in subsection
(b) with respect to any content created or
substantially modified by the generative artificial
intelligence system of the provider.
(2) Exemption for internal use.--The requirements of this
subsection shall not apply to covered AI-generated content
produced by a provider of a generative artificial intelligence
system if the covered AI-generated content--
(A) is generated or used solely for internal
research and development purposes; and
(B) is not intended for public release or
commercial deployment.
(b) Covered Online Platforms.--Each covered online platform shall--
(1) ensure that any covered AI-generated content displayed
on the platform that incorporates a machine-readable disclosure
described in subsection (a)(1)(B) is clearly and conspicuously
identified as covered AI-generated content;
(2) not tamper with or remove any such disclosure,
including when such covered AI-generated content is transferred
to or otherwise shared to another online platform;
(3) provide to any user sharing content the option to make
content provenance information specified in subsection
(a)(1)(B)(i)(I), as well as any additional user-specified
content provenance information, readily available to other
users of such platform;
(4) make a good faith effort to combat the liar's dividend
by implementing strategies recommended by the Commission; and
(5) to the extent technically and economically feasible,
ensure that information contained in the identification
described in paragraph (1) or content provenance information
made available under paragraph (3) is accessible, including to
individuals with disabilities.
(c) Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Disclosure.--Each person who,
through any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce, makes
available to users an artificial intelligence chatbot shall include a
clear and conspicuous disclosure that identifies the system as an
artificial intelligence chatbot.
(d) Enforcement by the Commission.--
(1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practice.--A violation of
this section shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining
an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
57a(a)(1)(B)).
(2) Powers of the commission.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall enforce this
section in the same manner, by the same means, and with
the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all
applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated
into and made a part of this section.
(B) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who
violates this section or a regulation promulgated
thereunder shall be subject to the penalties and
entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in
the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et
seq.).
(C) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to limit the authority of the Commission
under any other provision of law.
(D) Regulations and guidance.--
(i) Authority to identify exceptions.--The
Commission may promulgate regulations in
accordance with section 553 of title 5, United
States Code, to specify exceptions from the
requirements of this section, such as for de
minimis pieces of content.
(ii) Establishment of specified safe
harbors.--
(I) In general.--The Commission may
specify interoperable standards that
comply with the requirements of this
section.
(II) Deemed compliance.--Each
person who makes available a generative
artificial intelligence system or
covered online platform shall be deemed
in compliance with the requirements of
this section by following the standards
established by the Commission under
subclause (I).
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF DISCLOSURES.
(a) Prohibitions.--
(1) Prohibition on fraudulent disclosure.--No person shall
knowingly and with the intent or substantial likelihood of
deceiving a third party, enable, facilitate, or conceal the
circumvention or falsification of a disclosure required under
section 2, by adding a disclosure, or other information about
the provenance of covered AI-generated content, that the person
knows to be false.
(2) Prohibition on fraudulent distribution.--No person
shall knowingly and for financial benefit, enable, facilitate,
or conceal the circumvention or falsification of a disclosure
required under section 2 by knowingly distributing--
(A) covered AI-generated content that does not
include the required disclosure; or
(B) non-AI-generated content that includes such
disclosure.
(3) Prohibition on products and services for circumvention
or falsification.--No person shall deliberately manufacture,
import, or offer to the public a technology, product, service,
device, component, or part thereof that--
(A) is primarily designed or produced and promoted
for the purpose of circumventing, removing, or
tampering with any disclosure required under section 2,
or for adding any such disclosure to non-AI-generated
content, with the intent or substantial likelihood of
deceiving a third party about the provenance of a piece
of digital content;
(B) has only limited commercially significant or
expressive purpose or use other than to circumvent,
remove, or tamper with a disclosure required under
section 2, or to add any such disclosure to non-AI-
generated content, and is promoted for such purposes;
or
(C) is marketed by such person or another person
acting in concert with such person with the person's
knowledge for use in circumventing, removing, or
tampering with a disclosure required under section 2,
or for use in adding any such disclosure to non-AI-
generated content, with an intent to deceive a third
party about the provenance of a piece of digital
content.
(b) Exemptions.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in subsection (a) shall inhibit
the ability of any individual to access, read, or review a
disclosure or the content provenance or other information
contained therein.
(2) Exception for nonprofit libraries, archives, and
educational institutions.--
(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in
this subsection, subsection (a) shall not apply to a
nonprofit library, archives, or educational institution
that generates, distributes, or otherwise handles
covered AI-generated content.
(B) Commercial advantage, financial gain, or
tortious conduct.--The exception described in
subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a nonprofit
library, archive, or educational institution that
willfully, for the purpose of commercial advantage,
financial gain, or in furtherance of tortious conduct,
violates a prohibition described in subsection (a),
except that such nonprofit library, archive, or
educational institution shall--
(i) for the first offense, be subject to
the civil remedies described in section 4; and
(ii) for repeated or subsequent offenses,
in addition to the civil remedies described in
section 4, forfeit the exemption provided under
subparagraph (A).
(C) Circumventing technologies.--This paragraph may
not be used as a defense to a claim under paragraph (3)
of subsection (a), nor may this paragraph permit a
nonprofit library, archive, or educational institution
to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide,
or otherwise traffic in any technology, product,
service, component, or part thereof, that circumvents a
disclosure required under section 2.
(D) Qualifications of libraries and archives.--In
order for a library or archive to qualify for the
exemption described in subparagraph (A), the
collections of the library or archive shall be--
(i) open to the public; or
(ii) available not only to researchers
affiliated with the library or archive or with
the institution of which it is a part, but also
to other persons doing research in a
specialized field.
(3) Reverse engineering.--A researcher acting in good faith
may circumvent, remove, add, or tamper with a disclosure
required under section 2 for the purpose of improving or
testing the robustness of such disclosures, or for improving or
testing the robustness of detection tools.
(4) Law enforcement, intelligence, and other government
activities.--The prohibitions described in subsection (a) shall
not prohibit the lawfully authorized investigative, protective,
information security, or intelligence activity of an officer,
agent, or employee of the United States, a State, or a
political subdivision of a State, or a person acting pursuant
to a contract with the United States, a State, or a political
subdivision of a State.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Civil Action.--The Attorney General may bring a civil action in
an appropriate district court of the United States against any person
who violates section 3(a).
(b) Powers of the Court.--In a civil action brought under
subsection (a), the court--
(1) may grant a temporary or permanent injunction on such
terms as the court determines reasonable to prevent or restrain
a violation of section 3(a), but may not impose a prior
restraint on free speech or the press protected under the First
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
(2) at any time while the civil action is pending, may
order the impounding, on such terms as the court determines
reasonable, of any device or product that is in the custody or
control of the alleged violator and that the court has
reasonable cause to believe was involved in a violation of
section 3(a);
(3) may award damages under subsection (c);
(4) in its discretion, may allow the recovery of costs
against any party other than the United States or an officer
thereof; and
(5) may, as part of a final judgment or decree finding a
violation of section 3(a), order the remedial modification or
the destruction of any device or product involved in the
violation that is in the custody or control of the violator or
that has been impounded under paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(c) Award of Damages.--
(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, a person committing a violation of section 3(a) is
liable for statutory damages as provided in paragraph (2) of
this subsection.
(2) Statutory damages.--
(A) Election of amount based on number of acts of
circumvention.--At any time before final judgment is
entered in a civil action brought under subsection (a),
the Attorney General may elect to recover an award of
statutory damages for each violation of section 3(a) in
the sum of not more than $2,500 per act of
circumvention, device, product, component, offer, or
performance of service, as the court considers just.
(B) Election of amount; total amount.--At any time
before final judgment is entered in a civil action
brought under subsection (a), the Attorney General may
elect to recover an award of statutory damages for each
violation of section 3(a) in the sum of not more than
$25,000.
(3) Repeated violations.--In a civil action brought under
subsection (a), if the Attorney General sustains the burden of
proving, and the court finds, that a person has violated
section 3(a) within 3 years after a final judgment was entered
against the person for another such violation, the court may
increase the award of damages up to triple the amount that
would otherwise be awarded, as the court considers just.
(4) Innocent violations.--
(A) In general.--The court, in its discretion, may
reduce or remit the total award of damages under
paragraph (2) if the court finds that the violator was
not aware and had no reason to believe that the
violator's acts constituted a violation.
(B) Nonprofit libraries, archives, educational
institutions, and public broadcasting entities.--In the
case of a nonprofit library, archive, educational
institution, or public broadcasting entity (as defined
in section 118(f) of title 17, United States Code), the
court shall remit damages under paragraph (2) if the
library, archive, educational institution, or public
broadcasting entity sustains the burden of proving, and
the court finds, that the library, archive, educational
institution, or public broadcasting entity was not
aware and had no reason to believe that its acts
constituted a violation.
(5) Duplicative awards.--No compensatory damages may be
awarded under this section if compensatory damages have been
awarded under section 5 or 6 against the same defendant for the
same conduct.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.
(a) Civil Action.--If the attorney general of a State has reason to
believe that an interest of the residents of that State has been or may
be adversely affected by a violation of section 3(a), the attorney
general of the State may bring a civil action in the name of the State,
or as parens patriae on behalf of the residents of the State, in an
appropriate district court of the United States.
(b) Relief.--
(1) In general.--In a civil action brought under subsection
(a), the court may award relief in accordance with section
4(c).
(2) Duplicative awards.--No compensatory damages may be
awarded under this section if compensatory damages have been
awarded under section 4 or 6 against the same defendant for the
same conduct.
(c) Rights of Attorney General and Commission.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (4), the
attorney general of a State shall notify the Attorney General
of the United States and the Commission in writing prior to
initiating a civil action under subsection (a).
(2) Contents.--The notification required by paragraph (1)
with respect to a civil action shall include a copy of the
complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action.
(3) Intervention.--Upon receiving a notification under
paragraph (1), the Attorney General may intervene in the civil
action in accordance with subsection (e).
(4) Exception.--If it is not feasible for the attorney
general of a State to provide the notification required by
paragraph (1) before initiating a civil action under subsection
(a), the attorney general of the State shall notify the
Attorney General of the United States and the Commission
immediately upon instituting the civil action.
(d) Actions by Attorney General.--If the Attorney General of the
United States institutes a civil action under section 4(a) for a
violation of section 3(a), no attorney general of a State may, during
the pendency of the civil action, institute a civil action against any
defendant named in the complaint in the civil action instituted by the
Attorney General of the United States for a violation of section 3(a)
that is alleged in the complaint.
(e) Intervention by Attorney General.--The Attorney General of the
United States may intervene in any civil action brought by the attorney
general of a State under subsection (a) as a matter of right pursuant
to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and upon intervening be heard
on all matters arising in the civil action and file petitions for
appeal of a decision in the civil action.
(f) Investigatory Powers.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising the powers
conferred on the attorney general by the laws of the State to--
(1) conduct investigations;
(2) administer oaths or affirmations; or
(3) compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of
documentary or other evidence.
(g) Actions by Other State Officials.--
(1) In general.--In addition to civil actions brought by an
attorney general of a State under subsection (a), any other
officer of a State who is authorized by the State to do so may
bring a civil action in the same manner, subject to the same
requirements and limitations that apply under this section to
civil actions brought by an attorney general of a State.
(2) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection may be
construed to prohibit an authorized official of a State from
initiating or continuing any proceeding in a court of the State
for a violation of any civil or criminal law of the State.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT BY PRIVATE PARTIES.
(a) Civil Action.--A provider of a generative artificial
intelligence system or covered online platform who is harmed by a
violation of section 3(a) using that system or platform may bring a
civil action against the violator in an appropriate district court of
the United States.
(b) Relief.--
(1) In general.--In a civil action brought under subsection
(a), the court may award relief in accordance with section
4(c).
(2) Duplicative awards.--No compensatory damages may be
awarded under this section if compensatory damages have been
awarded under section 4 or 5 against the same defendant for the
same conduct.
(c) Rights of Attorney General and Commission.--
(1) In general.--The provider of a generative artificial
intelligence system or covered online platform shall notify the
Attorney General and the Commission in writing prior to
initiating a civil action under subsection (a).
(2) Contents.--The notification required by paragraph (1)
with respect to a civil action shall include a copy of the
complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action.
(3) Intervention.--Upon receiving a notification under
paragraph (1), the Attorney General may intervene in the civil
action in accordance with subsection (e).
(d) Actions by Attorney General.--If the Attorney General
institutes a civil action under section 4(a) for a violation of section
3(a), no provider of a generative artificial intelligence system or
covered online platform may, during the pendency of the civil action,
institute a civil action against any defendant named in the complaint
in the action instituted by the Attorney General for a violation of
section 3(a) that is alleged in the complaint.
(e) Intervention by Attorney General.--The Attorney General may
intervene in any civil action brought by a provider of a generative
artificial intelligence system or covered online platform under
subsection (a) as a matter of right pursuant to the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, and upon intervening be heard on all matters arising
in the civil action and file petitions for appeal of a decision in the
civil action.
SEC. 7. AI-GENERATED CONTENT CONSUMER TRANSPARENCY WORKING GROUP.
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (in this section referred
to as the ``Director''), in coordination with the Commission,
shall establish the AI-generated content consumer transparency
working group (in this section referred to as the ``Working
Group'').
(2) Membership.--The Working Group shall include members
from the following:
(A) Relevant Federal agencies.
(B) Developers of any generative artificial
intelligence system.
(C) Private sector groups engaged in the
development of content detection and content provenance
standards, audiovisual media formats, and open-source
implementation of such standards and formats.
(D) Social media platforms and other covered online
platforms.
(E) Academic institutions and other relevant
entities.
(F) Privacy advocates and experts.
(G) Media organizations, including news publishers
and image providers.
(H) Technical experts in digital forensics,
cryptography, content manipulation, digital disability
accessibility, and secure digital content and delivery.
(I) User experience designers and consumer behavior
experts or consumer psychologists.
(J) Groups or individuals representing victims
affected by covered AI-generated content.
(K) Any other entity determined appropriate by the
Director or by other relevant Federal agencies.
(3) Coordination and delegation of duties.--The Working
Group shall be convened by the Director, who shall delegate
leadership on particular duties (or components of such duties)
to the National Institute of Standards and Technology and to
its existing content provenance workstreams, to the Commission,
or to other relevant Federal agencies, as appropriate.
(4) Duties.--The duties of the Working Group shall include
the following:
(A) Providing technical standards for identifying
and labeling covered AI-generated content, including by
considering existing, or developing new, standards that
assist with identifying, maintaining, interpreting, and
displaying content provenance information, and
establishing guidelines and best practices for covered
online platforms to implement such standards and the
Commission to enforce the provisions of this Act.
(B) Considering how to ensure any labels and
content provenance information are, to the extent
economically and technically feasible--
(i) indelible, tamper-resistant, and
tamper-evident to improve accuracy and ease of
identification; and
(ii) interoperable across all covered
online platforms, widely used content-creation
software applications, and other digital
ecosystem considerations that are necessary to
maintain disclosure integrity when transferring
from one online platform, software application,
operating system, or device to another.
(C) Providing the Commission with guidance
regarding--
(i) the technical and economic feasibility
of the requirements of this Act; and
(ii) the detection of covered AI-generated
content, including by determining--
(I) reasonable criteria for
detection accuracy;
(II) what widely available tools,
if any, meet the criteria described in
subclause (I); and
(III) any additional information
that should be included within the
machine readable disclosures required
by section 2(a)(1)(B)(i)(I)(dd).
(D) In order to inform enforcement of this Act,
providing to the Commission clarifications and examples
of digital content (which the Commission shall
distribute to covered online platforms or providers of
any generative artificial intelligence system) that--
(i) is created or substantially modified by
generative artificial intelligence systems;
(ii) has had its meaning materially added,
removed, or altered by a generative artificial
intelligence system;
(iii) is realistic enough such that a
reasonable person would not necessarily assume
the content was created or substantially
modified by a generative artificial
intelligence system; and
(iv) is not considered covered AI-generated
content and would not require the disclosures
required by section 2.
(E) Developing recommendations for content
detection and secure content provenance practices for
any content that is produced by a generative artificial
intelligence system and is not covered under the
requirements of this Act, including text.
(F) Developing research and evidence regarding--
(i) the impact of covered AI-generated
content and required disclosures on consumer
behavior; and
(ii) how standards and guidelines can
contribute to an information environment that
is transparent and not overwhelming for
consumers.
(G) Supporting the development of guidelines and
best practices to address circumvention techniques and
improve the enforcement of the requirements of this
Act.
(H) Providing the Commission with guidelines and
best practices regarding how covered online platforms
can combat the liar's dividend, including strategies to
help ensure that non-AI-generated content is not
falsely labeled as covered AI-generated content.
(5) Standards.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Working Group is established under paragraph (1), the
Working Group shall publish technical standards, guidelines,
and recommendations to implement and enforce the provisions of
this Act, taking into account the criteria described in
paragraph (4) and the relevant expertise of the members of the
Working Group.
(6) Report to congress.--Not later than 180 days after the
Working Group publishes the standards under paragraph (5), the
Director shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives
a report that includes recommendations for legislative action.
(7) Sunset.--The working group shall terminate 60 days
after the date on which the Director submits the report
required by paragraph (6), and may be reconvened periodically
at the discretion of the Director or the Commission to consider
further developments in relevant technologies and research.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence chatbot.--The term ``artificial
intelligence chatbot'' means a generative artificial
intelligence system with which users can interact by or through
an interface that approximates or simulates textual, audio, or
visually based conversation, including a system that--
(A) through an application programming interface,
or similar direct connection, publicly posts digital
content or text; or
(B) integrates with a search engine to provide a
conversational search experience.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(3) Content provenance.--The term ``content provenance''
means--
(A) information about the origin of a piece of
content and the history of modifications to the content
that is in a format that is compliant with widely
adopted guidelines or specifications promulgated by an
established standards-setting body; or
(B) data that is embedded into digital content, or
that is included in the metadata of the digital
content, for the purpose of verifying the authenticity
or history of modification of the digital content.
(4) Covered AI-generated content.--The term ``covered AI-
generated content'' means digital content that is created or
substantially modified by a generative artificial intelligence
system such that--
(A) the use of the system materially alters, adds,
or removes the meaning or significance that a
reasonable person would interpret from the content; and
(B) a reasonable person would believe that the
content is not generated using a generative artificial
intelligence system.
(5) Covered online platform.--The term ``covered online
platform'' means any public-facing website or software
application available to users that--
(A) predominantly provides a forum for user-to-user
sharing or searching of content (including covered AI-
generated content), including a social media service,
social network, search engine, or content aggregation
service available to users; and
(B) either--
(i) at any point during the preceding 12
months, has at least 10,000,000 unique monthly
users or subscribers in the United States; or
(ii) during the most recently completed
taxable year, had more than $1,500,000,000
gross revenue.
(6) Digital content.--The term ``digital content'' means an
image, video, or audio content, or any combination thereof,
that exists in the form of digital data.
(7) Generative artificial intelligence system.--The term
``generative artificial intelligence system'' means any system
or software application that uses artificial intelligence (as
defined in section 238(g) of the John S. McCain National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019) to create or
substantially modify digital content.
(8) Liar's dividend.--The term ``liar's dividend'' means,
with respect to covered AI-generated content, the benefit that
a bad actor may receive or otherwise gain by falsely claiming
that non-AI-generated content is covered AI-generated content.
(9) Machine-readable.--The term ``machine-readable'' has
the meaning given such term in section 3502 of title 44, United
States Code.
(10) Non-AI-generated content.--The term ``non-AI-generated
content'' means content that was not created or substantially
modified by a generative artificial intelligence system.
(11) Open-source.--The term ``open-source'' means, with
respect to software, a software project with source code that
is publicly available for anyone to view, modify, and
distribute.
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