Models Demand New York Lawmakers Regulate AI in the Fashion Industry

ALBANY, NY (01/24/2024) (readMedia)-- On Wednesday, the Model Alliance joined lawmakers and models for a virtual press conference to unveil new amendments to the Fashion Workers Act to regulate the use of generative AI in the modeling industry. The misuse of AI is a growing threat to the working lives of models, like Shereen Wu – recently featured in a Guardian story – and Robyn Lawley who shared their firsthand experiences.

While the AI technology may be new, the lack of transparency and accountability in the fashion industry is not. For over a decade brands have repurposed models' images without consent or compensation. The unregulated use of generative AI is only exacerbating this issue. The new AI provisions mark a necessary first step toward establishing baseline protections for models and content creators around transparency and consent for the use of generative AI.

Recording of the virtual press conference linked here.

"When your body is your business, having your image manipulated or sold off without your permission is a violation of your rights. We introduced the Fashion Workers Act to create basic labor protections for models and content creators working in an industry that infamously operates without oversight. The misuse of generative AI presents a new challenge, and we cannot allow it to go unregulated. The Model Alliance aims to create an environment of transparency and accountability between the talent, their agencies, and brands, and we urge lawmakers to pass the Fashion Workers Act this session." said Sara Ziff, Founder and Executive Director of the Model Alliance.

"New York City is the fashion capital of the United States. As such, it is our responsibility to ensure that those who work in the fashion industry are treated fairly and are protected from harmful labor practices. Unfortunately, we are failing models, who are the essential workers in fashion. Models are too often underpaid, overworked, and exploited by the very management agencies that claim to represent them. And now that AI enables a model's digital replica to be used without their consent we need regulations to protect models from harm, more than ever. That's why we must pass the Fashion Workers Act (2477A) and close the legal loopholes that allow modeling agencies to maintain near-complete control over a model's finances, job opportunities, and use of their personal image. Our bill will put a cap on the outrageously high fees these agencies charge, prohibit jobs that pose unreasonable risks to models, protect

models from having their digital image replicas used without their consent, and empower the Attorney General and Department of Labor to go after management companies that violate these rules. With this bill we can make New York a global leader in fashion worker protection," said New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

"Last October, I walked a show for a designer in exchange for 'exposure,' only to find that my ethnicity as a Taiwanese-American model had been completely erased from the photos using AI. Having my face white-washed without my knowledge or consent was dehumanizing, and I never want another model to experience this power dynamic or helplessness over their own image. It's crucial for lawmakers to pass the Fashion Workers Act now, so that models like me will not have to face AI related abuse going forward," said model Shereen Wu.

"It's completely unacceptable that right now, there is a heavily altered digital replica of me out there that's being used for profit without my consent. The misuse of our images as models is not a new problem, but with the rise of AI, it's getting much worse. Lawmakers must pass the Fashion Workers Act to place power back in the hands of workers and give us the right to consent to the use of our digital replicas," said model Robyn Lawley.

The Fashion Workers Act, the Model Alliance's signature bill, is a pro-labor bill that would regulate predatory management companies in New York that currently operate without oversight in the $2.5 trillion fashion industry – ensuring models and content creators have basic protections and autonomy in the workplace. Sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, the legislation passed in the State Senate last spring but stalled in the Assembly. New amendments will be incorporated into the Fashion Workers Act as a necessary first step toward establishing baseline protections for models and content creators around transparency and consent for the use of generative AI.

The Fashion Workers Act AI provisions include:

• Requiring management companies and brands to obtain clear written consent to create or use a model's digital replica
• Requiring management companies and brands to detail the scope, purpose, rate of pay and duration of use of a model's digital replica
• Prohibiting management companies and brands from altering or manipulating a model's digital replica without their clear written consent
• Requiring any power of attorney agreement between a management company and a model to exclude the use of a model's digital replica

A full summary of all AI provisions is linked here.

Background on the Fashion Workers Act:

Modeling agencies are considered to be management companies under New York State General Business Law §171(8), known as the "incidental booking exception," allowing them to escape licensing and regulation. In almost every case, management companies are granted blanket "power of attorney" as part of their agreement to represent models, giving management companies power to accept payments on behalf of the model, deposit checks and deduct expenses, as well as book jobs, negotiate the model's rate of pay, and give third parties permission to use the model's image, while having no obligation to act in their talents' best interests.

This leaves models unprotected outside the terms of their individual contracts – which tend to be exploitative and one-sided in favor of the management company – and creates a lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to basic issues like health and safety and having insight into one's own finances. For example, models often don't know whether and how much they'll be paid for jobs booked through management companies, which deduct various unexplained fees from their earnings, in addition to a 20 percent commission from the model and a 20 percent service fee from the client. Models are held to multi-year, auto-renewing contracts without any guarantee of actually being booked paid work, which ensnares them in cycles of debt and makes models highly vulnerable to other forms of abuse, including human trafficking. When models experience abuse, they do not have a safe channel to file work-related grievances without a risk of retaliation.

The Fashion Workers Act would address these issues by closing the legal loophole by which management companies escape accountability and create basic protections for the models and content creators who are the faces of New York's fashion industry.

The Fashion Workers Act would require management companies to:

• Establish a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their talent
• Provide models with copies of contracts and agreements
• Notify formerly represented models if they collect royalties on their behalf
• Register and deposit a surety bond of $50,000 with the NYS Department of State
• Protect the health and safety of models, including by establishing a zero-tolerance policy for abuse

And discontinue bad practices such as:

• Presenting power of attorney as a necessary condition for entering into a contract with the management company
• Collecting signing fees or deposits from models
• Charging models interest on payment of their earnings
• Charging more than the daily fair market rate for accommodation
• Deducting any other fee or expense than the agreed upon commission
• Renewing the contract without the model's affirmative consent
• Imposing a commission fee greater than twenty percent of the model's compensation
• Taking retaliatory action against a model for filing a complaint
• Engaging in discrimination or harassment of any kind against a model on the basis of race, ethnicity, and other legally permissible categories under Section 296(a) of the Executive Law.

About the Model Alliance

Founded in 2012, the Model Alliance has been at the forefront of advancing labor rights in the fashion industry for the last decade. Through strategic research, policy initiatives, and campaigns, the Model Alliance aims to promote fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices in the fashion industry, from the runway to the factory floor. The Model Alliance has championed multiple pieces of legislation, including the Child Model Act in New York and the Talent Protections Act in California. The organization also runs the world's only industry-specific support line, MA Support. In 2021, the organization received the first Positive Social Influence Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America at the CFDA Awards.