How to Fight Back Against AI

Vermont's Data Privacy Act (H.121, 2024) includes strong provisions against AI-driven consumer profiling without consent, requiring controllers to provide clear opt-outs from any AI system that processes sensitive personal data. Vermont became the first state to explicitly ban the sale of data that …

Georgia SB 392 (2024) extends Georgia's existing right of publicity statute to cover AI-generated replicas of voice and likeness, prohibiting use for commercial purposes without consent. The Georgia law is notable for applying to deceased individuals for 50 years after death, protecting the estates …

The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA, proposed 2024) would create a national consumer data privacy framework that includes specific provisions on AI profiling, requiring opt-in consent for sensitive data used in AI systems, mandating impact assessments for high-risk automated decision-making, and g…

Georgia HB 1023 (2024) requires large data centers seeking state tax incentives to submit environmental impact assessments including projected water and energy consumption over a 10-year period. The bill is a response to drought concerns and grid reliability issues tied to rapid AI-driven data cente…

Florida HB 3 (2024), signed into law as the Online Protections for Minors Act, prohibits social media platforms from using algorithmic recommendation systems to serve content to children under 14 without verifiable parental consent, and bans autoplay features and infinite scroll designed to maximize…

Washington SB 5649 requires employers using automated decision tools for employment-related decisions to disclose their use to affected workers and explain the factors considered. Workers have the right to request human review of any adverse employment decision made with the assistance of an automat…

Tennessee's Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, signed into law in 2024, extends the state's existing personal rights law to explicitly protect musicians and artists from AI-generated imitations of their voice. The law makes it illegal to use AI to create a replica of a person's …

World of Warcraft franchise director John Hight publicly confirmed at GDC 2024 that Blizzard is not using generative AI in World of Warcraft, stating 'We're not using generative AI within WoW.' The studio emphasized its 'handcrafted' creative approach and concerns about rights and quality, while int…

Utah's Artificial Intelligence Policy Act (SB 149, signed March 2024) requires businesses interacting with consumers through AI chatbots or automated systems to disclose upon request that the consumer is communicating with AI. The law holds businesses liable for actions taken by AI systems they depl…

Virginia SB 603 (2024) requires data centers over a certain size to report annual water consumption and energy usage to the state's Department of Energy. The law responds to rapid data center expansion in Northern Virginia — home to the world's largest data center cluster — and growing community con…

Adobe launched a $1 million fund to compensate stock photo contributors whose work was used to train its Firefly AI model, becoming one of the first AI companies to create a concrete revenue-sharing program for human creators. Adobe Firefly was trained only on licensed, public domain, and Adobe Stoc…

The AI Environmental Impacts Act (proposed 2024) would require the Department of Energy to develop a framework for measuring and disclosing the energy and water consumption of AI systems. It mandates that large AI developers publish annual environmental impact reports covering training runs and depl…

IATSE secured AI protections in its TV/theatrical agreement: productions must notify the union before deploying AI tools, workers retain rights over their work, and AI cannot be used to eliminate covered jobs without bargaining.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress to establish a federal right protecting individuals from unauthorized AI replication of their voice or likeness. Supported by SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, and major entertainment unions. As of 2025, it had not yet passed.

The No AI FRAUD Act (No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplications Act, proposed 2024) would establish a federal right for individuals to control the use of their voice and likeness in AI-generated content. The bill creates civil liability for AI companies that generate unau…

Replica Studios entered a groundbreaking consent-based AI voice agreement with SAG-AFTRA, announced at CES in January 2024, establishing the first formal framework for ethical use of AI voice replicas in video games. Under the agreement, Replica can only use performer voices with explicit consent an…

Image Comics updated its submission guidelines to state the publisher is 'not interested in AI generated artwork,' establishing a clear policy against AI-created visual content in its publications. Image Comics, home to creator-owned titles like Saga, The Walking Dead, and Invincible, framed the pol…

UK media union Prospect negotiated AI clauses into contracts at several major publishers, requiring consultation before AI deployment, prohibiting AI-generated content from replacing union-covered work, and ensuring journalists retain authorship rights over AI-assisted pieces.

The Protecting Workers from Automation Act (proposed 2023) would require large employers to give workers at least 180 days' notice before implementing AI or automation technologies that will eliminate or substantially change 50 or more jobs. The bill also creates a federal fund to provide retraining…

The AMPTP agreed to AI protections for actors in the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical contract ratified in December 2023. Studios are required to obtain informed consent and pay fair compensation before creating or using a 'digital replica' of any performer, and the agreement explicitly prohibits using digit…

Seattle passed an ordinance in 2023 requiring city agencies to complete a surveillance impact report before deploying any new surveillance technology, including AI-powered tools. The ordinance requires public hearings and council approval for any AI surveillance system that collects data on Seattle …

After a historic strike against the Big Three automakers, UAW secured contract language requiring advance notice and bargaining before any automation or AI deployment affecting workers, retraining rights for displaced workers, and enhanced severance if jobs are eliminated due to AI.

After a 118-day strike, SAG-AFTRA secured groundbreaking AI protections in its TV/film contract: studios must get consent and pay actors before creating AI replicas of their likeness, and background actors cannot be scanned without compensation. The deal set the standard for AI protections in labor …

California AB 459 (signed 2023) requires that any AI-generated synthetic media of a candidate for public office used in a political advertisement be clearly labeled as AI-generated. The law applies to deepfakes and AI-altered images and video distributed within 120 days of an election, and creates l…