BOSTON – The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed bills regulating the use of artificial intelligence in political advertisements. The bills would require the disclosure of AI use in political advertisements and would ban deceptive communications about a candidate or about the electoral process within three months of an election.
“As artificial intelligence continues to seep into more and more aspects of our daily lives, it is critically important to put up safeguards against its misuse,” said State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston). “I was proud to vote in support of these common-sense safeguards against the misuse of AI in elections. These protections will only grow in importance as AI becomes harder and harder to distinguish from real content. Voters deserve to know that what they are seeing in political messaging is real and authentic. I am confident that these measures will strengthen our election infrastructure in this new technological era, and ensure voter confidence in the process.”
An Act to Protect against Election Misinformation prohibits the distribution of deceptive communications within 90 days of an election, which includes:
• Audio or visual media which depicts a candidate with intent to injure their reputation or deceive a voter into voting for or against them.
• Media that concerns the safety or regular operations of an election with intent to disrupt the integrity of the electoral process.
• Content with the intent to mislead voters as to the date and time of an election; the requirements, methods, or deadlines to vote; the certification of an election; and the express endorsement of a candidate or ballot initiative by a political party, elected official, nonprofit organization, or another person. The bill authorizes a political candidate whose voice or likeness appears in a materially deceptive audio or visual media to seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of the media, or to bring an action for damages and attorney’s fees against the party that distributed the media. Exemptions for the 90-day prohibition include: media outlets who air the ads or report on the ads as part of a newscast as long as they clearly acknowledge that there are questions about its authenticity; websites, newspapers, magazines and periodicals; and satire and parody.
An Act enhancing disclosure requirements for synthetic media in political advertising requires that any synthetic media audio or video communication intended to influence voting for or against a candidate or ballot proposition must disclose at the beginning and end of the communication that it contains AI generated materials. Violations are punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.
An Act to Protect against Election Misinformation passed the House by a vote of 154-3. An Act enhancing disclosure requirements for synthetic media in political advertising passed the House by a vote of 157-0. Both bills now go to the Senate for consideration.