Dear Member,
As I write this letter, we are returning to the bargaining table with the AMPTP. Let’s continue the epic showing of energy and resolve on the picket lines this week, and every day until we have a deal. Come out to the lines in force. One day stronger. One day longer. As long as it takes.
We’ve had incredible support from the community around us, especially legislators who champion SAG-AFTRA members and the work we do. Last week the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Labor and the Assembly Standing Committee on Science and Technology held a public hearing on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Workforce. SAG-AFTRA Executive Director, New York Local, Labor Policy and International Affairs Rebecca Damon gave testimony at the hearing and spoke to the very real dangers that replica voice and likeness, and synthetic media, made possible by AI, pose to the lives and livelihoods of SAG-AFTRA members. We are appreciative of Committee Chairs Assembly Member Latoya Joyner and Assembly Member Steven Otis for leading the charge on this important issue.
Last week’s hearing was the most recent in a long line of legislative efforts SAG-AFTRA has championed to protect our membership. SAG-AFTRA New York has been working on image rights protections for decades, including efforts leading up to the 2020 passage of New York state’s landmark Right of Publicity law enshrining the first protections against the abuse of deepfake technology in state law. We continue working with elected officials to protect our members and the essential contributions they make to the arts, including on the following bills:
DIGITAL REPLICA CONTRACTS S.7676 (Ramos)/A.TBD (Weinstein) - AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to contracts for the creation and use of digital replicas
This bill requires employers to provide both an opportunity for informed consent and proper representation before the rights to voice or likeness are signed over. Typically, the transfer of voice and likeness rights are buried deep within the fine print of contracts, with limited opportunities for performers to bargain for improved terms.
SAG-AFTRA is grateful to Senator Ramos and AM Weinstein for their efforts to safeguard the unauthorized use of a performer's voice and likeness - the most essential parts of who they are and the work they do. This bill will protect SAG-AFTRA members by prohibiting digital voice and likeness transfers without informed consent in New York State. Thank you to Senator Ramos and AM Weinstein for putting the agency and dignity of workers first.
FILM TAX INCENTIVE PROTECTIONS S.7422-A (Webb)/A.7634 (Meeks) - AN ACT to amend the tax law to exclude a production which uses artificial intelligence in a manner which results in the displacement of employees whose salaries are qualified expenses from the definition of qualified film for the purposes of the empire state film production credit
This bill prioritizes workers and protects against job displacement in the film and television industry. We strongly believe in the inherent value of human creative expression over generative artificial intelligence and we look forward to working with Senator Webb and Assembly Member Meeks on this issue.
COMMERCIAL USE DISCLOSURE A.216-A (Rosenthal)/S.6859 (Gianaris) - AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring advertisements to disclose the use of synthetic media
This bill would add another critical firewall for consumers by requiring all advertisements, in any medium, to disclose when synthetic media is used within that advertisement. This will protect consumers from the duplicitous use of synthetic media by ensuring that a viewer can immediately discern whether the image they are looking at is real.
Thank you to Senator Jessica Ramos, Assembly Member Helen Weinsten, Assembly Member Leah Webb, Assembly Member Demond Meeks, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, and Senator Mike Gianaris for understanding the importance of maintaining agency over our voice and likeness in a world where AI attempts to replicate who we are and what we do.
Forward together,
Ezra Knight
New York Local President