Advertising regulation continues to evolve through a steady
accumulation of federal rulemaking, state legislation, and active
enforcement under longstanding deception principles. Meanwhile, the
plaintiffs' bar is increasingly treating advertising compliance
failures as class action opportunities.
The cumulative effect is a regulatory landscape that is broader,
more technical, and less forgiving of compliance gaps. Here are
five trends and developments that should be on every
advertiser's radar this year.
1. AI Disclosures in Advertising
In 2025, New York enacted a first-in-the-nation law requiring
businesses to disclose the use of "synthetic performers"
— artificial intelligence (AI)-generated human likenesses
that do not depict actual living persons — in commercial
advertising. Under the law, which takes effect June 9, advertisers
distributing visual or audiovisual ads to New York audiences,
including online and social media campaigns,
