Understanding New York’s Digital Replica Law and Its Impact on AI and Entertainment
March 21, 2025
New York’s new Digital Replica Law, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-302, which took effect on January 1, 2025, introduces significant regulations on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the entertainment industry. Specifically, it governs how digital simulations of a person’s voice or likeness—known as “digital replicas”—can be created and used.
What Is a Digital Replica?
A digital replica is a computer-generated simulation of a person’s voice or appearance that is so realistic it is nearly indistinguishable from the person’s authentic voice. The law primarily aims to protect individuals, particularly performers, from having their likenesses used without proper authorization.
Key Provisions of the Law
The law states that contracts allowing for the creation and use of a digital replica are automatically void if they meet all of the following conditions:
- The digital replica is used in place of work that the individual would have otherwise performed in person.
- The contract does not clearly describe the intended use of the digital replica.
- The individual signing the contract was not represented by a lawyer or labor union during negotiations.
Only contracts that have all three of these conditions will be voided under the law.
Why Was This Law Introduced?
The law addresses growing concerns about AI’s role in the entertainment industry. Many entertainment industry performers and the labor unions that represent them, such as SAG-AFTRA, are concerned that the availability of AI-generated performances could reduce the amount of jobs and compensation available to human actors. The law builds on SAG-AFTRA’s recent efforts to incorporate AI regulations into its collective bargaining agreements with Hollywood studios.
The current agreement, which is in place through June 30, 2026, requires producers who wish to use AI-generated likenesses or performances of SAG-AFTRA members, referred to as Employment-Based Digital Replicas, to give actors 48 hours notice, obtain “clear and conspicuous” consent from actors to use their likeness, and pay for the use.
The union’s efforts to establish AI protections has also included the backing of new legislation. On September 17th, 2024 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two new pieces of legislation informed by SAG-AFTRA negotiations. AB 2602 requires contracts to specify the use of AI-generated digital replicas of a performer’s voice or likeness, in order to obtain the performer’s express authorization and informed consent. AB 1836 prohibits commercial use of digital replicas of deceased performers in films, TV shows, video games, audiobooks, sound recordings and more, without first obtaining the consent of those performers’ estates, expanding California’s post-mortem right of publicity law.
Conclusion
The rise of AI in entertainment presents exciting possibilities but also significant risks, particularly regarding job security and ethical concerns around digital identity. New York and California’s recent lawmaking on the topic may set a precedent for future regulations concerning AI and signal the willingness of legislatures to close gaps that may arise in collective bargaining efforts.
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