Signed Thursday, ads need a label

The visible time on this Verge page is Oct 24, 2026, 6:32 PM UTC. It says that on Thursday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Advertising Act. Thursday is the page's word. The page does not convert it into a calendar date. The law requires a label on an ad that has been significantly modified or generated by artificial intelligence. Ads include still images, video, audio, and text. The label has to be in the same format as the ad itself.

Two sentences about scope stay apart. The page says Pennsylvania is one of the first states to require disclosure on AI content. "One of the first" is this page's claim, not a table of state laws. The other sentence says the rule does not depend on where the ad was created, so a commercial expected to air in Pennsylvania may carry the label in other states too. The page says you might see those labels. It does not count how many ads actually cross state lines. It also gives two examples: television commercials from very large companies, and crowded restaurant flyers about a special. The examples say that still images through text all count as ads. They are not a catalog, and they are not two different duties.

The page then says the law leaves several lines, and that the lines are unclear. What counts as significantly modified is, in the page's wording, subjective. There is a carve-out for parody, satire, commentary, or criticism, and for anything evidently fictional. The page also says the wording appears to cover only synthetic content that creates a false consumer perception of a product or service. What false means, and who decides, are left open. That is an account of the statute's scope, not a way around the label.

State Senator Nick Pisciottano introduced the bill. His office had not immediately returned a request for comment. No reply is the status at publication. This piece does not treat The Verge's reading of the gaps as an interpretation a court has adopted. Other tech items at the bottom are not folded in. This piece keeps Thursday's signature, the same-format label, the one-of-the-first claim, the rule that creation place does not matter, and the unclear lines the page names. The page title says Pennsylvania will require labels on AI-generated ads. The dek says the act leaves a lot of loopholes. The author, Terrence O'Brien, is the weekend editor. The opening puts the signature and the disclosure duty in one sentence, and only later separates significant modification, generation, and the same-format label. "A lot of loopholes" is this page's judgment, not a counted list. The governor signed the bill. The senator introduced it. Those are not the same person. Because the office had not replied, this page has no further explanation from the senator of where "significantly modified" is drawn.