✔️ "Made by AI" Labeling Put on Hold

According to the document, creators of AI content would have been required to accompany all audiovisual materials with a special graphical or textual tag reading “Made by AI.” Parliamentarians justified the necessity of such a measure by citing the rapid growth in the volume of AI generations, which ordinary users cannot distinguish from real footage or photographs with the naked eye, thereby creating risks of widespread public deception.

However, during detailed deliberations, the bill faced severe criticism from the specialized IT committee. In particular, MP Anton Gorelkin pointed to the legal and technical immaturity of the initiative. He noted a complete lack of clear labeling criteria in the document (such as whether using an AI filter or basic upscaling qualifies as grounds for a tag), clear enforcement mechanisms, and a transparent framework for allocating liability for violations. Consequently, the majority of parliamentarians voted against adopting the document.

Despite the rejection of this specific bill, the regulation of neural networks remains on the agenda of relevant agencies. Earlier in April, Deputy Minister of Digital Development Alexander Shoitov publicly advocated for the necessity of censoring AI within a security framework. The Ministry has already presented its own conceptual framework for regulating the technology, which also includes mandatory labeling for audio and video materials generated by neural networks to protect citizens from manipulation and potentially discriminatory algorithms.

Experts agree that authorities will inevitably revisit the idea of labeling AI content, though it will likely be framed within more thoroughly developed, comprehensive government-backed legislation.