Lawmakers Introduced Bill Targeting Undisclosed AI Bots
The Stealth Bot Prohibition Act mandates transparency for web-scraping software to protect digital content producers.
Updated on Oct. 11, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Legislators have introduced H.R. 9915, known as the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act, which requires internet-accessing software to disclose its identity and purpose. The bill aims to curb undisclosed AI-driven scraping of original journalism.
Why it matters
Publishers are seeking regulatory recourse against automated tools that ingest proprietary content without identification or consent. This legislation establishes a framework for accountability in how AI models acquire training data from web sources.
The proposed legislation authorizes federal civil penalties of up to $53,000 per violation for bots that fail to use valid user-agent strings or hide their operational intent. If enacted, these requirements would take effect after a 180-day implementation period.
The players
Laurel Lee
United States Representative and co-sponsor of the legislation.
Valerie Foushee
United States Representative and co-sponsor of the legislation.
Gus Bilirakis
United States Representative and co-sponsor of the legislation.
The details
The bill defines a bot as any software that automatically accesses internet sources to aggregate or process data. It mandates that developers implement a user-agent string—a line of text identifying the software to a web server—and provide a clear statement regarding the tool's purpose. The legislation specifically prohibits conduct that mimics human behavior or obscures the bot's ultimate function, targeting practices often used to circumvent site access controls.
Timeline
July 23, 2026: Representatives introduced H.R. 9915.
September 29, 2026: Industry executives attended a Washington event regarding the bill.
September 30, 2026: Stakeholders met with lawmakers to discuss the proposed regulations.
The Tech Race
This legislation places the United States among jurisdictions grappling with the competitive tension between AI model training and copyright protections. It follows industry pressure to limit how proprietary news content is ingested by automated crawlers without publisher oversight.
If passed, the bill would require developers of web-scraping software to update their agents to meet disclosure standards within 180 days. Organizations that rely on automated data collection will face new compliance requirements or risk significant civil penalties enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
The takeaway
The bill shifts the burden of transparency onto AI developers, potentially forcing a change in how bots interact with public web data. Readers should track the progress of H.R. 9915 through the congressional committee process to see if the proposed penalty structure remains intact.
Further reading
Learn more about policy developments regarding Artificial Intelligence.
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