The AI Labeling Act of 2026 (S. 4915, 119th Congress) is a bipartisan Senate bill introduced on June 24, 2026 by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), John Curtis (R-UT), and Mark Warner (D-VA) that would require disclosures identifying AI-generated digital content, including audio, video, and images, along with a specific disclosure requirement for AI chatbots (Source: govinfo.gov; politico.com). It revives legislation Schatz first introduced as the AI Labeling Act of 2023 (S. 2691, 118th Congress), which did not advance.
Status and legislative history
Schatz introduced the bill on June 24, 2026; it was read twice and referred to committee (Source: govinfo.gov). The sponsors announced it publicly on June 25, 2026 (Source: schatz.senate.gov). The predecessor 2023 bill (S. 2691) was introduced in the 118th Congress and died without a floor vote (Source: congress.gov).
Key provisions
According to the sponsors' announcement, the bill would:
- Require both visible and machine-readable disclosures identifying AI-generated digital content, including image, video, and audio content;
- Require AI developers and all major social media platforms to collaborate so users can identify the authenticity of shared content; and
- Establish a working group to create technical standards for identifying AI-generated content and supporting content provenance (Source: schatz.senate.gov).
Disclosures would be enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission (Source: politico.com). Warner framed the bill's approach as "a disclosure and anti-circumvention model that should be the global standard," noting that "jurisdictions around the globe are moving to adopt common-sense rules around labeling AI-generated content" (Source: schatz.senate.gov).
Rationale and reactions
The sponsors cited AI-enabled deception incidents including a May 2023 AI-generated photo of an explosion near the Pentagon that briefly moved the stock market, viral deepfake images of President Trump being arrested, and voice-cloning scams impersonating family members (Source: schatz.senate.gov). Schatz said "if any digital content is made by AI, it should be labeled so that people are aware and aren't fooled or scammed."
The bill is endorsed by organizations including the Authors Guild, SAG-AFTRA, the National Association of Voice Actors, Public Citizen, Common Cause, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League, IATSE, the Writers Guild of America East, and several music-creator groups (Source: schatz.senate.gov). Music-industry press covered the reintroduction as part of a broader push for AI-content transparency affecting creators' interests (Source: musicbusinessworldwide.com).
Relation to other measures
The bill sits alongside other federal AI-content measures: the TAKE IT DOWN Act (enacted 2025, addressing non-consensual intimate imagery), the NO FAKES Act (federal, proposed) (digital-replica rights, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2026), and Warner's separately circulated AI AGENT Act discussion draft on agent registries. Its FTC-enforcement design places new AI functions in an agency whose commissioners, after Trump v. Slaughter, serve at the president's pleasure. Its provenance working group addresses the same authentication problem discussed in Liar's Dividend.
Relationships
- related: NO FAKES Act (federal, proposed) — companion strand of federal synthetic-media legislation
- related: TAKE IT DOWN Act — enacted precedent for federal synthetic-content regulation
- related: Liar's Dividend — the authentication problem labeling regimes address
- related: Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — designated enforcement agency
- related: State-Level AI Regulation — state AI-labeling and disclosure laws the federal bill would sit alongside