SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2831
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
SENATE, June 21, 2024.
The committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity, to
whom was referred the petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2730) (subject to Joint Rule
12) of Barry R. Finegold and Frank A. Moran for legislation relative to deceptive and fraudulent
deepfakes in election communications, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2831).
For the committee,
Michael O. Moore 1 of 5
FILED ON: 6/18/2024
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2831
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to disinformation in elections.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 56 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 42 the
2following section:-
3 Section 42A. Disinformation in Elections.
4 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless
5the context clearly requires otherwise:
6 “Candidate” shall have the same meanings as defined in section 1 of chapter 55 of the
7General Laws.
8 “Materially deceptive audio or visual media”, an image or an audio or video recording
9concerning the safety or regular operations of an election or of a candidate’s appearance, speech,
10or conduct that has been fabricated or intentionally manipulated in a manner such that both of the
11following conditions are met: 2 of 5
12 (1) The image or audio or video recording would falsely appear to a reasonable person to
13be authentic; and
14 (2) The image or audio or video recording would cause a reasonable person to have a
15fundamentally different understanding or impression of the expressive content of the image or
16audio or video recording than that person would have if the person were hearing or seeing an
17unaltered, original image or audio or video recording.
18 “Person”, an individual, corporation, political committee, association, operation, firm,
19partnership, trust or other form of business or personal association.
20 “Political party” shall have the meaning as defined in section 1 of chapter 50 of the
21General Laws.
22 (b) Except as provided in subsection (c), a person, candidate, campaign committee,
23political action committee, political issues committee, political party, or other entity shall not,
24within 90 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot,
25distribute with actual malice:
26 (1) materially deceptive audio or visual media depicting the candidate with the intent to
27injure the candidate’s reputation or deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate; or
28 (2) materially deceptive audio or visual media concerning the safety or regular operations
29of an election intended disrupt the integrity of the electoral process.
30 (c) (1) The prohibition in subsection (a) does not apply if the audio or visual media
31includes a disclosure stating: “This _____ has been manipulated.” 3 of 5
32 (2) The blank in the disclosure required by paragraph (1) shall be filled with whichever of
33the following terms most accurately describes the media:
34 (i) Image;
35 (ii) Video; or
36 (iii) Audio.
37 (3) (i) For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily
38readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in
39the visual media. If the visual media does not include any other text, the disclosure shall appear
40in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is video, the
41disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video.
42 (ii) If the media consists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken
43manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning of the
44audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed
45within the audio at intervals of not greater than two minutes each.
46 (d) (1) A candidate for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in a materially
47deceptive audio or visual media distributed in violation of this section or the attorney general
48may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of audio or visual media
49in violation of this section.
50 (2) A candidate for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in a materially
51deceptive audio or visual media distributed in violation of this section may bring an action for
52general or special damages against a person, candidate, campaign committee, political action 4 of 5
53committee, political issues committee, political party, or other entity that distributed the
54materially deceptive audio or visual media. The court may also award a prevailing party
55reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. This subsection shall not be construed to limit or preclude a
56plaintiff from securing or recovering any other available remedy.
57 (3) In any civil action alleging a violation of this section, the plaintiff shall bear the
58burden of establishing the violation through clear and convincing evidence.
59 (e) (1) This section shall not be construed to alter or negate any rights, obligations, or
60immunities of an interactive service provider under Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States
61Code.
62 (2) This section does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a
63cable or satellite television operator, programmer, producer, or mobile application or streaming
64service that broadcasts materially deceptive audio or visual media prohibited by this section as
65part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of
66bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in
67a manner that can be easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that there are
68questions about the authenticity of the materially deceptive audio or visual media.
69 (3) This section does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a
70cable or satellite television operator, programmer, producer, or mobile application or streaming
71service when it is paid to broadcast materially deceptive audio or visual media.
72 (4) This section does not apply to an internet website, or a regularly published newspaper,
73magazine, or other periodical of general circulation, including an internet or electronic
74publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, and that publishes 5 of 5
75materially deceptive audio or visual media prohibited by this section, if the publication clearly
76states that the materially deceptive audio or visual media does not accurately represent the
77speech or conduct of the candidate.
78 (5) This section does not apply to materially deceptive audio or visual media that
79constitutes satire or parody.