New York AI news bills await Hochul decision

Two AI-related bills passed by the State Legislature in June are awaiting action from Governor Hochul. The New York Stealth Crawler Prohibition Act would require software that accesses covered news sites, including search crawlers, bots and AI agents, to identify its product, version, company and purpose before visiting.

Software that fails to comply would be treated as a “stealth crawler,” and deploying it in a way that burdens a news site or causes economic harm would be illegal. The Attorney General could seek civil penalties of up to $15,000 per day for each violation, and qualifying news sources would gain a way to subpoena internet providers to identify anonymous bot operators. The protections apply to outlets that publish at least monthly, correct errors and reach at least 1,000 monthly users in New York.

The FAIR News Act would require a clear label on news content substantially created by generative AI, with disclosure placed at the top of visual or written content and read aloud for audio. Enforcement would carry penalties of $1,000 for a first offense and $5,000 for each later offense. Local publishers, businesses using automated web tools, newsletters, podcasts and readers could all be affected, while supporters and critics continue to debate impacts on journalism, public trust, free speech and privacy.