Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., introduced the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act on Thursday, bipartisan legislation that would require automated web crawlers to identify themselves and state their purpose when accessing websites. Reps. Valerie Foushee, D-N.C., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., joined as original co-leads.
The bill aims to establish transparency standards for automated web crawlers and prohibit deceptive bots that conceal their identity or impersonate human users while scraping online content in connection with generative AI services. It would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the rules through civil penalties. State attorneys general would also have authority to pursue civil penalties against violators.
Automated bots now account for more than half of all global web traffic, according to the lawmakers. Many AI-powered crawlers ignore existing industry standards, disguise themselves as human users, or hide their identities, making it harder for website operators to track who is accessing their systems and how content is being used.
These practices can raise cybersecurity risks, drive up infrastructure costs, and blur the line between legitimate automated activity and malicious actors.
“As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, we must ensure innovation is accompanied by transparency and accountability. Today, website operators are too often left in the dark about who is accessing their systems and whether automated tools are collecting their content under false pretenses,” Lee said. “The Stealth Bot Prohibition Act establishes commonsense transparency standards that help businesses protect their networks, safeguard proprietary information, and better understand how AI systems interact with online content.”
Foushee said stealth crawler bots are being used by data scrapers to access platforms without consent, harming creative work by taking large amounts of unauthorized web data. “As these bots become more advanced, some bad actors are using them to intentionally misrepresent their nature and appear as human traffic, undermining the standards used to responsibly govern web use and protect consumers,” she said. “Congress needs legislation that responds to these risks and protects creative and online content from misuse by requiring bot transparency and authorizing the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to intervene and pursue civil penalties against bad actors.”
Bilirakis noted that news organizations invest significant resources in original journalism. “It is simply wrong for AI bots to scrape that content, repurpose it, and profit from it without permission or compensation,” he said. “As a proud co-lead of the BOTS Act, I am committed to protecting intellectual property, supporting local journalism, and ensuring that emerging technologies are developed responsibly.”
Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance, called the bill a common-sense response to bot traffic that harms publishers’ ability to serve readers. “Existing technical tools simply aren’t enough to protect our content from malicious foreign actors that can disguise their identity,” she said. “We need transparency and accountability for bad actors, as well as enforcement mechanisms that require the most basic disclosures.”
Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, said AI companies are using disguised bots to scrape original journalism with no accountability and then compete with publishers. “The bipartisan Stealth Bot Prohibition Act, requiring bots to identify themselves and their purpose, is a practical step toward helping publishers preserve the integrity of our journalism and trust with audiences,” he said.
Debi Chirichella, president of Hearst Magazines, said the legislation is an important step toward a cleaner internet and healthier marketplace. Conan Gallaty, CEO of the Tampa Bay Times, said it gives needed protection against malicious scraping that hurts content creators and consumers. Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, described stealth bots as silent scavengers that loot legitimate sites and pillage intellectual property, adding that the bill helps protect creators and journalists while safeguarding internet integrity.
The legislation has support from the News/Media Alliance, News Corp, Advance Local, Axel Springer US, Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, McClatchy Media Company, Newsmax, Tampa Bay Times, The New York Times, USA TODAY Co., Vox Media, and Reddit.
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