Data Integrity in the AI Era: Key 2026 Legislation to Watch

International

• EU AI Act — Article 50 (Transparency Obligations) (Upcoming — effective Aug. 2, 2026). Requires machine-readable marking of all AI-generated outputs and visible disclosure of deepfakes by GPAI providers and deployers, with fines up to €15M or 3% of global turnover.
• China — Measures for the Labelling of AI-Generated and Synthetic Content (In effect — Sept. 1, 2025). Mandates both explicit user-facing labels and implicit metadata labels on AI-generated text, images, audio, and video; paired with the 2023 Deep Synthesis Provisions and GB/T 45654-2025 data-provenance standard.

United States — Federal

• NO FAKES Act (H.R. 2794 / S. 1213, 119th Congress) (Upcoming / pending). Federal private right of action against unauthorized AI voice and visual-likeness replicas; live First Amendment fight (FIRE has flagged it).
• COPIED Act (Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act, S. 1396) (Upcoming / pending). Directs NIST to set provenance, watermarking, and synthetic-content detection standards; bars training on content with provenance information without consent.
• Take It Down Act (In effect — signed May 2025). Federal takedown obligation for non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated and AI-altered content; the only enacted federal piece in this cluster.
• NIST AI Safety Institute / NIST GenAI program guidance on synthetic content provenance (In effect — ongoing rolling guidance). Non-binding but increasingly referenced by state statutes.

United States — State

• California — AI Transparency Act (SB 942) + AB 853 amendments (Upcoming — operative date deferred to Aug. 2, 2026). Latent and manifest disclosures, AI-detection tool requirement, capture-device provenance option, and platform-side provenance surfacing for large online platforms.
• New York — Stop Deepfakes Act (S6954A / A6540A) (Upcoming / pending in legislature). Three-part provenance regime: synthetic-content providers attach metadata, social platforms preserve it, state agencies attach it where practicable; AG rulemaking authority.
• New York — Synthetic Performer Disclosure (GBL § 396-b) (Upcoming — effective June 9, 2026). Conspicuous disclosure of synthetic performers in advertising; $1,000 first-offense / $5,000 subsequent civil penalties.
• Tennessee — ELVIS Act + Digital Content Provenance Pilot Program (In effect — July 1, 2024). Civil cause of action for AI voice/likeness misuse, plus a state-run provenance pilot for emergency-management content and election-content provenance requirements.