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