HB0358D -1- SCS CSHB 358(JUD)
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SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 358(JUD)
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Offered: 5/13/24
Referred: Rules
Sponsor(s): REPRESENTATIVES CRONK, McCabe, Fields, Vance, Josephson
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to defamation claims based on the use of synthetic media; relating to 1
the use of synthetic media in electioneering communications; and providing for an 2
effective date." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 09.65 is amended by adding a new section to read: 5
Sec. 09.65.360. Civil liability for defamation based on synthetic media. An 6
action for defamation based on the use of synthetic media is a claim for defamation 7
per se. In this section, "synthetic media" has the meaning given in AS 15.80.009(f). 8
* Sec. 2. AS 15.80 is amended by adding a new section to read: 9
Sec. 15.80.009. Synthetic media in electioneering communications. (a) A 10
person may not knowingly use synthetic media in an electioneering communication 11
with the intent to influence an election. 12
(b) An individual who is harmed by an electioneering communication that 13
violates this section may bring an action in the superior court to recover damages, full 14 33-LS1272\H
SCS CSHB 358(JUD) -2- HB0358D
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reasonable attorney fees, and costs from 1
(1) the person who created the electioneering communication or 2
retained the services of another to create the electioneering communication; 3
(2) a person who disseminates an electioneering communication 4
knowing that the electioneering communication includes synthetic media; or 5
(3) a person who removes a disclosure statement described in (d) of 6
this section from an electioneering communication with the intent to influence an 7
election and knowing that the electioneering communication includes synthetic media. 8
(c) An individual who is harmed by an electioneering communication that 9
violates this section may seek injunctive relief in the superior court to prohibit 10
publication of the synthetic media. 11
(d) It is a defense to an action under this section that 12
(1) the electioneering communication included the following 13
disclosure statement: "This (image/video/audio) has been manipulated" and 14
(A) for visual media that included other text, the text of the 15
disclosure statement remained visible throughout the entirety of the 16
communication, was easily readable by the average viewer, and was in a font 17
not smaller than the largest font size of any other text that appeared in the 18
visual component; 19
(B) for visual media that did not include any other text, the 20
disclosure statement was in a font size that was easily readable by the average 21
viewer; 22
(C) for a communication that consisted of only audio, the 23
disclosure statement was read 24
(i) at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, 25
and, if the audio was longer than two minutes in duration, at intervals 26
interspersed within the audio that occurred at least once every two 27
minutes; and 28
(ii) in a clear manner and in a pitch and at a speed that 29
was easily heard by the average listener; or 30
(2) the synthetic media constitutes satire or parody. 31 33-LS1272\H
HB0358D -3- SCS CSHB 358(JUD)
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(e) An interactive computer service, Internet service provider, cloud service 1
provider, telecommunications network, or radio or television broadcaster, including a 2
cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, is not liable under this 3
section for hosting, publishing, or distributing an electioneering communication 4
provided by another person. This subsection does not prevent an individual from 5
bringing an action under (b)(3) of this section for removing a disclosure statement. 6
(f) In this section, 7
(1) "access software provider" means a provider of client, server, or 8
other software or enabling tools that 9
(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content; 10
(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or 11
(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, 12
organize, reorganize, or translate content; 13
(2) "artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that, for 14
explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input the system receives, how to 15
generate outputs, including predictions, content, recommendations, and decisions that 16
can influence physical or virtual environments, with different artificial intelligence 17
systems varying in levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment; 18
(3) "electioneering communication" means a communication that 19
(A) directly or indirectly identifies a candidate or political 20
party; 21
(B) is disseminated through a mailing, a newspaper, the 22
Internet, or broadcast media, including radio, television, cable, or satellite, to 23
an audience that includes voters who will have the opportunity to vote on a 24
candidate identified in the communication or on a candidate of a party 25
identified in the communication; and 26
(C) when read as a whole and with limited reference to outside 27
events, is susceptible of no other reasonable interpretation but as an 28
exhortation to vote for or against a specific candidate; 29
(4) "interactive computer service" means an information service, 30
system, or access software provider that provides or enables co
mputer access by 31 33-LS1272\H
SCS CSHB 358(JUD) -4- HB0358D
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multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that 1
provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by 2
libraries or educational institutions; 3
(5) "synthetic media" 4
(A) means an image, audio recording, or video recording of an 5
individual's appearance, speech, or conduct that is manipulated by artificial 6
intelligence in a manner that creates a realistic but false image, audio 7
recording, or video recording and produces 8
(i) a depiction that a reasonable person would believe is 9
of a real individual in appearance, speech, or conduct but did not 10
actually occur in reality; and 11
(ii) a materially different understanding or impression 12
than a reasonable person would have from the unaltered, original 13
version of the image, audio recording, or video recording; 14
(B) does not include an image, audio recording, or video 15
recording that is minimally edited, adjusted, or enhanced by artificial 16
intelligence without materially altering how the meaning or significance of the 17
depiction would be perceived by a reasonable person. 18
* Sec. 3. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 19