District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill B25-0832 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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11	11	June 5, 2024
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13	13	Nyasha Smith
14	14	Secretary to the Council
15	15	Council of the District of Columbia
16	16	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
17	17	Washington, D.C. 20004
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19	19	Dear Secretary Smith:
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21	21	Today, along with Councilmembers Brooke Pinto, Matthew Frumin, Robert C. White, Jr., and Brianne
22	22	K. Nadeau, I am introducing the “Deepfake Political Advertising Regulation Amendment Act of
23	23	2024”. Please find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation.
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25	25	The rapid development of artificial intelligence (“AI”) has threatened to upend many facets of daily
26	26	life. In our elections, the creation of so-called “deepfakes” in political campaign advertisements
27	27	poses a significant threat to election security. Deepfakes, which are false but hyper-realistic
28	28	manipulations of an image, audio, or video, can depict a candidate saying or doing things they never
29	29	did to damage that candidate’s reputation and deceive voters. The democratic process, through
30	30	free and fair elections, depends on voters getting the facts and truth about candidates, their
31	31	positions on the issues, and how the outcomes of an election will affect their everyday lives and the
32	32	future. As a result, deepfakes represent a significant threat to our democracy.
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34	34	There is a litany of examples of how deepfakes have already begun to impact elections across the
35	35	country. In the lead-up to the New Hampshire Democratic primary earlier this year, voters in the
36	36	state received robocalls impersonating President Biden and urging voters not to vote in the primary
37	37	and to “save your vote for the November election.” In 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida
38	38	released a campaign video attacking former President Trump by showing a montage of photos of
39	39	President Trump embracing Dr. Fauci. These examples not only manipulated reality but confused
40	40	and deceived voters and undermined confidence in elections. To address the impact of deepfakes
41	41	on their elections, at least 40 states have pending bills in this legislative session, with at least 20 bills
42	42	enacted into law in Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin
43	43	regulating deceptive audio or visual media.
44	44	To combat the presence of deepfakes and limit the impact that a deepfake may have in our
45	45	elections, this legislation would require a disclaimer on a deepfake, saying that the image, audio,
46	46	or video has been manipulated or altered by AI. The bill would also prohibit the distribution of a
47	47	deepfake within 90 days of an election. Lastly, the bill permits a candidate whose appearance or
48	48	voice is altered through AI to seek injunctive relief in Superior Court. The Campaign Finance Board
49	49	will also be able to assess a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for the first offense and not
50	50	more than $20,000 for the second and subsequent offense for any violations. This legislation
51	51	preserves our democratic process, which we know is more important now than ever before.
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53	53	Please feel free to reach out to me or my Legislative Director, Antonio Nunes, with any questions
54	54	or for additional information.
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57	57	Sincerely,
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61	61	Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6
62	62	Chairperson, Committee on Transportation & the Environment
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64	64	1
65	65	______________________________ ______________________________ 1
66	66	Councilmember Brooke Pinto Councilmember Charles Allen 2
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69	69	______________________________ ______ ________________________ 5
70	70	Councilmember Matthew Frumin Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 6
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73	73	_______________________________ 9
74	74	Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau 10
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78	78	A BILL 14
79	79	15
80	80	________ 16
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83	83	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 19
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85	85	_________________ 21
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88	88	To amend the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and 24
89	89	Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2011 to require that all candidates, 25
90	90	political action committees, political committees, independent expenditure committees or 26
91	91	agents of candidates, political action committees, political committees, or independent 27
92	92	expenditure committees, or persons that publish, distribute, disseminate, or cause to be 28
93	93	published, distributed, or disseminated, to another person in the District, certain 29
94	94	campaign materials or political communications that use or contain artificial media 30
95	95	created or produced using generative artificial intelligence include a certain disclosure in 31
96	96	a certain manner, to prohibit the distribution of artificial media within 90 days of an 32
97	97	election that do not conform to the disclosure requirements, and to permit injunctive 33
98	98	relief by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the issuance of civil fines by 34
99	99	the Campaign Finance Board for any violations. 35
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101	101	BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 37
102	102	act may be cited as the “Deepfake Political Advertising Regulation Amendment Act of 2024”. 38
103	103	Sec. 2. The Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and 39
104	104	Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2011, effective April 27, 2012 (D.C. Law 19-40
105	105	124; D.C. Official Code § 1–1161.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new section 315a to read 41
106	106	as follows: 42
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108	108	“Sec. 315a. Additional identification of political advertising using artificial media. 43
109	109	“(a) A candidate, political action committee, political committee, independent 44
110	110	expenditure committee, or an agent of a candidate, political action committee, political 45
111	111	committee, or independent expenditure committee, or person that publishes, distributes, or 46
112	112	disseminates, or causes to be published, distributed, or disseminated, to a person in the District, 47
113	113	campaign material that is produced using or containing artificial media shall include the 48
114	114	following disclosure: 49
115	115	“(1)(A) For media that is only a still image, the disclosure shall include the 50
116	116	statement, “This image has been altered or modified through the use of artificial intelligence or 51
117	117	other digital technology to display an appearance or conduct that did not occur.”. 52
118	118	“(B) The statement required under subparagraph (A) of this subsection 53
119	119	shall be written in a type size that is: 54
120	120	“(i) Easily readable by the average viewer; and 55
121	121	“(ii) Not smaller than the largest type size of other text appearing 56
122	122	in the still image. 57
123	123	“(2)(A) For media that is only an audio recording, the disclosure shall include the 58
124	124	statement, “This audio has been altered or modified through the use of artificial intelligence or 59
125	125	other digital technology to display a sound or voice that did not occur.”. 60
126	126	“(B) The statement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall 61
127	127	be read: 62
128	128	“(i) In a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily 63
129	129	heard by the average listener; and 64
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131	131	“(ii) At the beginning of the audio recording, at the end of the 65
132	132	audio recording, and if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the 66
133	133	audio at intervals of not greater than two minutes each. 67
134	134	“(3)(A) For media that is a video recording, the disclosure shall include the 68
135	135	statement, “This video has been altered or modified through the use of artificial intelligence or 69
136	136	other digital technology to display an appearance, conduct, sound, or voice that did not occur.”. 70
137	137	“(B) The statement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall 71
138	138	be written in: 72
139	139	“(i) Text that remains visible to the viewer for the duration of the 73
140	140	video recording; and 74
141	141	“(ii) In a type size that is easily readable to the average viewer and 75
142	142	placed in a conspicuous location in the frame of the video. 76
143	143	“(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a candidate, political action 77
144	144	committee, political committee, independent expenditure committee, or an agent of a candidate, 78
145	145	political action committee, political committee, or independent expenditure committee, or person 79
146	146	shall not, within 90 days of an election at which a candidate will appear on the ballot, initiative, 80
147	147	referendum, or recall, publish, distribute, or disseminate artificial media that the person knows or 81
148	148	should have known is artificial media. 82
149	149	“(c) A candidate, political action committee, political committee, or independent 83
150	150	expenditure committee, or person whose appearance, conduct, sound, or voice is represented 84
151	151	through the use of artificial media in violation of this section may seek injunctive or other 85
152	152	equitable relief in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia prohibiting the publication of 86
153	153	the artificial media. 87
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155	155	“(d) A candidate, political action committee, political committee, independent 88
156	156	expenditure committee or agent of a candidate, political action committee, political committee, 89
157	157	or independent expenditure committee, or person that violates the provisions of this section, in 90
158	158	addition to any other penalty provided by law, may be assessed a civil penalty by the Campaign 91
159	159	Finance Board of not more than $10,000 for the first offense and not more than $20,000 for the 92
160	160	second and each subsequent offense. 93
161	161	“(e) For purposes of this section, “artificial media” in political advertising means an 94
162	162	image, audio recording, or video of an individual’s appearance, conduct, sound, or voice that has 95
163	163	been fully or partially created or intentionally manipulated or modified with the use of generative 96
164	164	artificial intelligence or other digital technology in a manner to create or produce a realistic but 97
165	165	false image, audio, or video, that: 98
166	166	“(1) Depicts a candidate, political action committee, political committee, 99
167	167	independent expenditure committee, or agent of a candidate, political action committee, political 100
168	168	committee, or independent expenditure committee, or person with the intent to injure the 101
169	169	reputation of the candidate, political action committee, political committee, independent 102
170	170	expenditure committee, or agent of a candidate, political action committee, political committee, 103
171	171	or independent expenditure committee, or person or otherwise deceive a voter; or 104
172	172	“(2) Appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual, the individual’s 105
173	173	speech, or the individual’s conduct that did not actually occur. 106
174	174	“(f) This section does not apply to: 107
175	175	“(1) A provider of an interactive computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 108
176	176	230(f), or an information service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153; 109
177	177	“(2) A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite 110
178	178	television operator, programmer, or producer, that broadcasts artificial media prohibited by this 111
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180	180	section as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot 112
181	181	coverage of bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a 113
182	182	disclosure, in a manner that can be easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that 114
183	183	there are questions about the authenticity of the materially artificial audio or visual media, or in 115
184	184	cases where federal law requires broadcasters to air advertisements from legally qualified 116
185	185	candidates; 117
186	186	“(3) A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite 118
187	187	television operator, programmer, or producer, when it is paid to broadcast artificial audio or 119
188	188	visual media and has made a reasonable effort to establish the depiction is not artificial audio or 120
189	189	visual media, or in cases where federal law requires broadcasters to air advertisements from 121
190	190	legally qualified candidates; 122
191	191	“(4) An internet service or website provider, or a regularly published newspaper, 123
192	192	magazine, or other periodical of general circulation, including an internet or electronic 124
193	193	publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, and that publishes 125
194	194	materially artificial audio or visual media prohibited by this section, if the publication clearly 126
195	195	states that the materially artificial audio or visual media does not accurately represent the speech 127
196	196	or conduct of the candidate; 128
197	197	“(5) Content that constitutes satire or parody.”. 129
198	198	Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 130
199	199	The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 131
200	200	impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 132
201	201	approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 133
202	202	Sec. 4. Effective date. 134
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204	204	This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 135
205	205	Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 136
206	206	provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 137
207	207	24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 138
208	208	Columbia Register. 139