Protecting Consumers from Deceptive AI Act (H.R.8479): shielding consumers from AI that deceives

1Fake audio and images anyone can make

With generative AI, anyone can now easily create fake audio, images, video, and text indistinguishable from the real thing. Behind that convenience, misuse to deceive consumers has become a real problem: investment scams impersonating celebrities, phone fraud mimicking a family member voice, fake word-of-mouth and reviews, and fake advertising.

How to protect consumers from such deceptive AI is a new challenge for consumer-protection policy.

2Protecting consumers from deceptive AI

H.R.8479, the Protecting Consumers from Deceptive AI Act, is a House bill that seeks to address this. As its name indicates, it appears aimed at protecting consumers from uses of AI that deceive them. The sponsor is Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC); it was introduced on April 23, 2026, and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Referral to committees overseeing consumer protection and communications and technology hints at the bill character. What AI uses would count as deceptive and what obligations or penalties would fall on whom are provision details beyond the information here, so no firm conclusions are drawn.

3Being referred to two committees

Where jurisdiction spans more than one committee, a bill is referred to several. Among the AI-related bills this site holds, that shape is limited.

Referral to the committees owning consumer protection and communications and technology suggests the bill's character. With generative AI, fake audio, images, video and text indistinguishable from the real thing can be produced easily by anyone, and investment fraud impersonating public figures, scams mimicking a family member's voice, and fabricated reviews have become real problems.

What counts as deceptive and what duties or penalties attach are details beyond what is shown here.