300 Publishers Call on Congress to Regulate AI Bot Scraping

Condé Nast and Hearst are among the 300 publishers who, in a lobbying campaign reported on September 30, 2026, are asking Congress for regulation of undisclosed AI bot scraping.

The focus is on unidentified bots that collect content from websites without disclosing themselves. Publishers support a bipartisan bill that would require these bots to declare their identity and purposes, under penalty of civil sanctions.

Key Points

• Three hundred publishers are calling for mandatory transparency for bots that copy content from the web.
• The Stealth Bot Prohibition Act includes federal penalties and the involvement of state attorneys general.
• Some publishers in the campaign also have paid agreements for licensing content to AI.

Publishers Seek Congressional Rules on AI Bot Scraping

Publishers want federal standards against undisclosed scraping to impose transparency on bots that collect content. The request comes as AI impacts website traffic, search, and online visibility.

According to Mashable, executives linked to Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Vanity Fair have lobbied in Washington for the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act. The News/Media Alliance supports the legislation and states that disguised bots harm publishers' ability to serve readers and protect their content.

At the presentation of the text, the alliance's president Danielle Coffey stated that technical defenses are insufficient against bots that hide their identity.

"We are overwhelmed by bot traffic, which harms our ability to serve readers, and existing technical tools are not enough to protect our content from malicious actors who can disguise their identity," Coffey said.

Debi Chirichella, president of Hearst Magazines, called the law a step towards a clean internet. Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, accused AI companies of using disguised bots to take original journalism without accountability.

What the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act Entails

The bill would require scraping bots to disclose their identity and purposes to website publishers. Those who fail to do so would face civil penalties enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.

The bipartisan proposal was introduced in the House in July. It targets stealth bots, which are unidentified AI agents used to collect and index website content without disclosure.

The text would also authorize state attorneys general to act against AI scraping. In summary, the regulation revolves around transparency, with federal civil penalties and actions from state attorneys general.

AI Licenses Coexist with the Transparency Battle

Among the publishers seeking more protections, some have already signed agreements to profit from the use of their content in AI training and research. The agreements involve OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.

• OpenAI: In 2024, Condé Nast initiated a multi-year collaboration; licensing agreements have also been signed by Associated Press, The Atlantic, and TIME, as well as The Guardian and Axios. The Washington Post has agreed to include its original journalism within ChatGPT.
• Google: In January 2025, it closed its first AI licensing agreement with Associated Press.
• Microsoft: It has formed agreements with Associated Press, People Inc., and USA Today Co.
• Meta: It has signed a multi-year licensing and training agreement covering seven publishers, including CNN and Fox News.
• Amazon: Among the publishers it has reached agreements with are The New York Times, Condé Nast, and Hearst.

On the legal front, in April 2025, Ziff Davis, the parent company of the publisher of this service, sued OpenAI for copyright infringement in the training and operation of its AI systems.

Content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and human editorial review.