Pennsylvania legislature passes SB 806, requiring disclosure of AI in ads that could mislead consumers; bill goes to Gov. Shapiro
Partly confirmed
The takeaway
On Oct 7, 2026 the Pennsylvania House gave final approval to Senate Bill 806 (sponsor: Sen. Nick Pisciottano, D-Allegheny).
Status
- Claim
Partly confirmed
- Our reporting
- Medium confidence
- Importance
- 2 of 5
- Last verified
- 9 October 2026
Your AI and this story
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None of these four assistants can know about it. The closest, Claude Opus 5.5, stops 99 days before it.
Key facts
- Scope: synthetic content in ads that creates a ‘false consumer perception’ or misleads about ‘the nature, origin or authenticity’ of goods or services (MediaPost, Erie News Now)
- Form: audio disclaimers at audible volume and cadence; visual disclaimers shown long enough to read; disclosure in the same medium as the ad; disclosures should be ‘permanent or extraordinarily difficult to remove’ (MediaPost)
- Penalty: up to $3,000 per violation in the Senate-passed version (earlier coverage); the final text was not checked
- History: unanimously reported by the Senate Communications and Technology Committee (May 2026); passed the Senate 48–2 (June 2026); final House passage on Wednesday Oct 7 per MediaPost; vote count not checked
- Pisciottano: ‘Consumers deserve to know if AI is being used to create a false impression about a product or service’ (MediaPost)
- Opposition: NetChoice said ‘Layering a parallel, AI-specific regime on top of these actively enforced laws does not enhance consumer protection’ (MediaPost)
- Pennsylvania Senate Democrats call it one of the nation’s first advertising disclosure standards for AI
What happened
After passing the state Senate in June, SB 806 cleared the House in October and was sent to Gov. Shapiro, whose administration has been active on AI consumer protection (it sued Character.AI in May 2026).
Why it matters
It adds Pennsylvania to the states that regulate AI in advertising, with concrete rules on how disclosures must be shown. Whether Shapiro signs it, and its final penalty provisions, are still to be checked.
Sources
5 sources from 3 sites. Numbers match the chips in the text.
5 sources: 3 primary, 2 press
Primary
- Pennsylvania Senate Democrats: AI consumer protection bill establishing advertising disclosure standards heads to governor (Oct 9)pasenate.com, official
- Pennsylvania Senate Democrats: Pisciottano’s landmark AI bill establishes one of nation’s first advertising disclosure standards (Oct 7)pasenate.com, official
- Pennsylvania Senate Democrats: Pisciottano AI transparency bill advances unanimously (May 2026)pasenate.com, official
Press
- MediaPost: Pennsylvania passes bill requiring disclosure of misleading AI in adsmediapost.com, press
- Erie News Now: Lawmakers want to call out AI in advertisingerienewsnow.com, press
Changes
- Filed