May 6, 2026 · COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY · 1,461 words · 4 speakers · 9 segments
I call this meeting of the Senate Communications and Technology Committee to order. Matt, please call the roll.
Baker? Here. Boscola? Proxy. Proxy. Ferry? Here. Gephardt? Proxy. Kane? Proxy. Malone? Here. Miller? Here. Phillips Hill? Proxy. Pacozi? Here. Ward? Proxy. Pennycoat? Here.
We've established a quorum. We have two bills on our agenda today. I call up Senate Bill 806, printer number 871, sponsored by Senator Piscitano. This bill amends the unfair trade practices and consumer protection law and will require disclaimers to be issued when an artificial intelligence is used in advertising, assigns enforcement responsibilities, and penalties. I'll move the bill seconded in by Senator Miller. Senator, excuse me, Senate Bill 806 is now before the committee. Senator Piscitano is here.
would you like to talk on your bill? Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the committee for consideration of Senate Bill 806. This bill has been a multi-year collaborative effort that existed in the Senate before I was even here. And so I want to thank Senator Pennycook and Miller, Senator Cain and all the bipartisan co-sponsors we have on the legislation to move this forward and thank the chairs for bringing it up today. Simply put, the legislation requires an advertiser using synthetic content in their advertisements to clearly disclose the use of artificial intelligence. As AI continues to pervade kind of our lives and our society, I think it's important that we set up safeguards to protect people so that they are aware that what they're seeing may be AI generated. And so the Commonwealth has a duty to manage the growth of AI but also protect our constituents from its potential harms. And I believe this bill strikes a balance between fostering innovation but also consumer protection. so that Pennsylvania can be a leader nationally on sensible AI protections. We are grateful for the collaboration of the chairs of this committee on this bill, and the staff especially have spent a lot of time going back and forth to hammer out the language on something like this, which is innovative legislative language. I think states across the country are trying to grapple with how to regulate AI And I think that this bill is a great first step in trying to carve out those protections for the people that we represent And so thank you to the chairs of the committee the staff who have spent a long time on crafting this legislation and I hope to have the committee support today.
Thank you, Senator. There is an amendment to the bill. I will offer amendment number A03233. It's a gut and replace amendment and creates a new standalone act, the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act. This amendment is an agreed-to amendment. It provides that an advertiser may not knowingly, recklessly, or willfully create and disseminate an advertisement or cause an advertisement to be created and disseminated if that advertisement uses synthetic content in a way that creates a false consumer perception about the goods or services being advertised unless there is a clear and conspicuous disclosure. That disclosure must appear at the first instance where the synthetic content is presented. It must also appear in the same medium as the synthetic content and must be difficult to remove. The bill includes several exceptions and would not apply to content that is evidentiary, fictional, or parody, satire, commentary, or criticism, or synthetic content that is limited to text. Enforcement will be handled by the Attorney General or an appropriate district attorney. who may seek a temporary or permanent injunction. I move the amendment. Do I have a second? Senator Miller, any comments or questions? Senator Baker.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much for the bill. I'm interested in how this would apply to political advertising and whether or not it would be incorporated in my current race for re-election. There have been digital advertising, AI-generated images of me with green eyes and distorted facial and other kinds of features. Does this also include political advertising or, you know, super PAC advertising, advertising, those kinds of things, and is it something we can look to incorporate into it, as many people have said that those distorted images were very disturbing to them. Okay So it my understanding that excuse me our current deepfake law that on the books would apply to your situation now This also would potentially address that but we can continue that discussion
Any other comments? You're good? Senator Miller.
Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, I want to thank the committee members and our chair for moving quickly on this. Artificial intelligence is moving at a lightning-fast pace, and a couple of bills have moved by the committee or anticipated move by the committee right now, addressing the challenges around artificial intelligence impacting our seniors, our students, our minors, and working in a bipartisan fashion to get common-sense legislation done as this continues to move quickly. I too have come across images and it's like, is this AI generated or is this real? Those consumer protections, it's on us to add those guardrails. I just want to thank the makers of the bill, Senator Pennycook, Piscitano, Kane, and my staff for continuing to work in a bipartisan fashion and moving quickly to meet the moment. So favorable. We have no negative votes on the amendment or the bill. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Wonderful. So we'll proceed to a vote. Are there any negative votes? Seeing none or hearing none, amendment A03233 is adopted. Back to the bill as amended. Are there any further discussions on the bill as amended? Are there any negative votes on the bill as amended? Seeing none, hearing none, Senate Bill 806 passes unanimously. Congratulations. Congratulations. Next, I call up Senate Resolution 244, printer number 1496, sponsored by myself, Senator Langerholz, and Senator Martin. This resolution would direct the Joint State Government Commission to establish the Task Force on Child Protection in the Digital Age. I will move the bill. Do I have a second? Senator Ferry. Senator, excuse me, Senate Resolution 244 is now before the committee. Technology is moving at a pace that is leaving gaps in existing statutory framework that protects children. Advances in artificial intelligence social media platforms algorithm content and digital manipulation have created new and increasingly sophisticated risks to minors including exploitation exposure to harmful content and psychological harm While the General Assembly has taken meaningful steps in recent sessions to address issues such as deep fakes child sexual abuse material and online safety it become abundantly clear for the need to continually reevaluate our laws to ensure they are up-to-date to protect our children. The task force established under this resolution will meet no less than once every two years to review our existing statutes, assessing emerging technologies and identifies statutory gaps in protection for children in the digital environment. And it will issue a report and recommendation for action to the General Assembly. By establishing an ongoing review process, this legislation ensures that Pennsylvania's laws keep pace with the digital age and that our statutes and policies are continually re-evaluated, updated, and strengthened to close the gap and protect children. I want to thank my co-prime sponsors, Senators Langerholtz and Martin for their work on this resolution and for continuing to be strong and outspoken advocates for the protection of the Commonwealth's children. Are there any questions on the resolution? There is an amendment. I will offer amendment A03149. I will move the amendment. Do I have a second? Senator Baker, excuse me. The amendment adds the following members to this task force. One member with experience in the investigation or prosecution of human trafficking of minors or who otherwise has experience in the prevention or detection of human trafficking of minors. One member of the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board. One member with demonstrated expertise in digital technology and online safety, particularly as it relates to the exploitation of children. The Executive Director of the PA Commission on Sentencing or a designee who must be an employee of the PA Commission on Sentencing. The amendment also removes the Chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and is replaced with the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Are there any questions or comments on the amendment? Are there any negative votes on the amendment? Seeing none, Amendment A03149 is adopted unanimously. Back to the resolution as amended. Is there any further discussion? Are there any negative votes? Seeing none, hearing none, Senate Resolution 244 is reported as amended unanimously out of committee. That concludes our agenda for today. The Communications and Technology Committee stands in recess to the call of the Chair.