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A 6540

Requires synthetic content creations system providers to include provenance data on certain content made available by the provider

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Alex Bores and 7 co-sponsors

Requires providers of synthetic content systems to attach provenance data to content they release, helping users tell machine-made items from originals and trace origins.

AMENDED ON THIRD READING 6540D
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Bill Summary · A 6540

Summary — A6540 (2025): Requires synthetic content creation system providers to include provenance data on certain content

Status: Substituted by S6954A
Introduced: March 5, 2025
Current procedural status: Reported and ordered to third reading (6/17/2025); substituted by companion S6954A on 6/17/2025. See “Procedural timeline” below for detail.

Purpose / Intent

A6540 would require providers of "synthetic content creation systems" to attach provenance data (metadata about origin and creation) to certain synthetic content they make available. The bill’s intent is to improve transparency about whether content is machine‑generated or materially altered, to help recipients identify synthetic content and its source.

Key provisions (based on bill title and summary information)

The full bill text is not provided here; the title and legislative summaries indicate the following core components:

  • Definitions: Establishes key terms such as “synthetic content,” “synthetic content creation system,” “provider,” and “provenance data.”
  • Provenance requirement: Requires providers to include provenance data with synthetic content they make available. Provenance data is metadata that identifies the content’s origin and method of creation.
  • Scope: Applies to “certain content” — i.e., synthetic content created or distributed by covered providers (the precise coverage language and thresholds would be in the bill text).
  • Format and accessibility: Likely requires provenance to be machine‑readable and/or displayed to end users so consumers and platforms can identify synthetic content (specific format standards would be set in the bill).
  • Exceptions/limits: The bill may include exemptions (e.g., user‑generated content where the provider only hosts without generating, de minimis items, national security exceptions), though exact exceptions would be specified in the statute.
  • Enforcement/compliance: The bill would authorize enforcement mechanisms and penalties for noncompliance (details in the bill text or substituted S6954A).

Who would be affected

  • Synthetic content creation system providers (companies or services that generate or substantially transform content using AI or other synthetic techniques).
  • Platforms and intermediaries that host or distribute synthetic content in New York (depending on scope and definitions).
  • Content consumers and downstream publishers who would receive clearer provenance metadata.

Procedural timeline (selected)

  • 2025-03-05: Referred to Science and Technology
  • 2025-05-02 to 06-04: Amended and printed as 6540A, 6540B, 6540C; referred to Rules
  • 2025-06-17: Reported, ordered to third reading; substituted by S6954A

Sponsors and related bills

Primary sponsor: Assemblymember Alex Bores
Cosponsors include Monique Chandler‑Waterman, Brian Cunningham, Emerita Torres, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Steven Otis, Anna Kelles.
Companion Senate bill: S6954 / S6954A (substitute).

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Transparency: Improves consumers’ ability to identify synthetic content and trace it to a source.
  • Technical implementation: Providers may need to adopt standardized metadata formats or watermarking and update pipelines to embed provenance.
  • Compliance burden: Smaller providers could face costs implementing provenance reporting; scope definitions and exemptions will determine impact.
  • Enforcement detail: The practical effects depend on enforcement mechanisms, penalties, and any regulatory guidance in the final statutory language or companion substitute.

Note: This summary is based on the bill title, sponsor and procedural record provided. For precise legal obligations, required metadata fields, exemptions, enforcement language, and effective dates, consult the full bill text or the substituted version S6954A.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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