Condé Nast and Hearst were among 300 publishers pressing Congress for AI bot scraping regulation, in a lobbying effort reported on September 30, 2026. Their target: unidentified bots that collect website content without disclosure. The publishers support a bipartisan bill that would require those bots to identify themselves and their purposes—or face civil penalties.
Key takeaways
- The publisher campaign backs mandatory disclosure for content-scraping bots.
- The Stealth Bot Prohibition Act proposes federal penalties and attorney general enforcement.
- Several participating publishers also have paid AI content-licensing agreements.
According to Mashable, executives associated with Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Vanity Fair were lobbying in Washington for the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act. The News/Media Alliance supports the legislation, arguing that disguised bots hurt publishers’ ability to serve readers and protect their content.
Publishers press Congress for AI bot scraping regulation
The publishers’ campaign seeks federal rules against undisclosed scraping, with the News/Media Alliance calling for transparency and accountability as AI affects website traffic, search and discoverability.
At the bill’s introduction, Danielle Coffey, president of the alliance, said technical defenses were insufficient against bots that conceal their identities.
“We are drowning in bot traffic that is hurting our ability to serve our readers, and existing technical tools simply aren’t enough to protect our content from malicious actors that can disguise their identity,” Coffey said.
Debi Chirichella, president of Hearst Magazines, described the legislation as a step toward a “clean internet.” Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, accused AI companies of using disguised bots to take original journalism without accountability. The campaign brings together publishers of titles including Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Vanity Fair.
What the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act would require
The bill would require scraping bots to disclose their identities and purposes to website publishers. Failure to do so would expose them to civil penalties enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
Introduced in the House in July, the bipartisan proposal targets “stealth bots”—unidentified AI agents deployed to scrape and index website content without disclosure. It would also authorize attorneys general to take enforcement action against AI scraping.
The proposed AI bot scraping regulation therefore centers on disclosure, with both federal civil penalties and attorney general enforcement included in the bill.
Licensing agreements sit alongside the push for disclosure
Among publishers advocating for stronger protections, some have simultaneously struck agreements to profit from their content being used for AI training and search purposes, with these arrangements involving OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon.
In 2024, Condé Nast established a multi-year collaboration with OpenAI. Content licensing deals with the AI company were also finalized by Associated Press, The Atlantic and TIME. OpenAI secured licensing agreements with both The Guardian and Axios, and separately the Washington Post arranged for its original journalism to appear within ChatGPT.
In January 2025, Google finalized its inaugural AI licensing deal, partnering with the Associated Press. The Associated Press, People Inc. and USA Today Co. have each entered into agreements with Microsoft.
A multi-year licensing and training agreement covering seven publishers—among them CNN and Fox News—was reached by Meta. The New York Times, Condé Nast and Hearst are among the publishers that reached agreements with Amazon.
Legal challenges have accompanied those commercial arrangements. In April 2025, Ziff Davis, the parent company of the primary report’s publisher, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging copyright infringement in the training and operation of its AI systems.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.