Fake Tattoo and Car Detailing Laws Fool New Yorkers Online

Have You Been Fooled By AI?

I'm sad to admit that, yes, I have been one of the many people who fell for an image or a video created by AI.

With apps and websites like ChatGPT and Claude, images and clips are easily edited to look incredibly real.

For instance, there was a video going viral months ago of dogs "picking their family" at an animal rescue. It looked SO real. I actually shed a tear. Alas, it was fake...an AI generated video.

Recently, there have been photos going viral of new laws for New Yorkers that's causing quite the stir on social media.

Fake New York Legal Proposals Spread Online

New Yorkers who have been scrolling on Facebook this week may have seen a questionable press release or two.

Personally, I've seen two specific "press release" shared all over my social media accounts pertaining to legal proposals banning tattoos and car detailing in New York.

To the untrained eye, these documents look legitimate. However, they are not.

New York officials are now clearing the air. Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon representing the 119th District in New York shared that her office has been contacted from concerned citizens.

Assemblywoman Buttenschon writes in a statement:

I want to be clear that this is not a legitimate bill. This post is misinformation and is blatantly false.

Adding that the real piece of legislation regarding tattoos is "related to requiring county planning departments to review specific annexation petitions" but that legislation didn't even referance "tattoos or body modifications of any kind."

Buttenschon concludes that said legislation "ultimately did not pass regardless."

You can read more about the actual bill on the New York State Senate website.

Is it Illegal to Detail Your Car in New York State? 

Have you seen the other piece of "legislation" making the rounds regarding detailing your car?

According to the AI generated statement, car detailing will become illegal in 2028.

Is that actually the case?

No. It's not.

However, if you're a detailing service it does look like you'll need a license. NYC.Gov explains further reporting that "You must have a Car Wash license" if your business does  the following:

cleans vehicles, including washing, detailing, drying, polishing, vacuuming, or other cosmetic care of vehicles, either at a fixed location or as part of a mobile, on-demand, or “pop-up” service.

This doesn't affect the following car cleaning services:

• Sell, lease, rent, or repair motor vehicles as your main service and only offer carwashing as an additional service to this main service. (For example, yourbusiness is a repair shop and you wash the cars that you repair.)

• Operate a self-service facility for washing vehicles, where customers—not facilityemployees—clean vehicles.

• Clean vehicles on an intermittent basis to raise funds for a not-for-profitorganization.

• Are a federal, state, or local governmental agency

Here are some actual New York State laws to be aware of in 2026: