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AN ACT REGULATING THE USE OF DEEPFAKES IN ELECTION COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS;
PROVIDING FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF, ACTUAL DAMAGES, AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES; PROVIDING FOR
THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF POLITICAL PRACTICES; AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES.”
WHEREAS, the revolutionary innovations in generative artificial intelligence systems capable of
producing image, audio, video, text, and multimedia content pose a threat to free and fair elections in the State
of Montana; and
WHEREAS, AI-generated content may be used to create deepfakes that falsely depict a candidate's
speech or action in order to spread misinformation and disinformation at scale and with unprecedented speed;
and
WHEREAS, a deepfake is comparable to forcing a person to say or do something in a video recorded
under threat, in which the person appears to say or do something the person would not normally say or do; and
WHEREAS, a voter's opinion of a candidate may be irreparably tainted by a fabricated representation
of an officeholder, incumbent, or candidate saying or doing something the person did not say or do; and
WHEREAS, these false, negative portrayals may exist indefinitely once posted on the Internet and
permanently damage an officeholder, incumbent, or candidate's reputation and even put the person's safety at
risk.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. As used in [sections 1 through 4], unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise, the following definitions apply: - 2025
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(1) (a) "AI-generated content" means image, video, audio, multimedia, or text content that is
substantially created or modified by generative artificial intelligence in a manner that materially alters the
meaning or significance that a reasonable person understands from the content.
(b) The term does not include image, video, audio, multimedia, or text content that is minimally
edited, adjusted, or enhanced by generative artificial intelligence in a manner that does not materially alter the
meaning or significance that a reasonable person understands from the content.
(2) "Candidate" has the same meaning as provided in 13-1-101(8) and, for the purposes of
[sections 1 through 4], also includes an incumbent or current officeholder.
(3) "Deepfake" means AI-generated content or synthetic media that depicts a candidate or political
party with the intent to injure the reputation of the candidate or party or otherwise deceive a voter. A deepfake:
(a) appears to a reasonable person to depict an individual saying or doing something that did not
occur in reality; or
(b) provides a reasonable person a fundamentally different understanding or impression of the
appearance, action, or speech than a reasonable person would have from the unaltered, original version of the
image, audio recording, or video recording.
(4) "Generative artificial intelligence" means an artificial intelligence system capable of generating
novel image, video, audio, multimedia, or text content based on prompts or other forms of data provided by a
person.
(5) "Synthetic media" means an image, audio recording, or video recording of an individual's
appearance, speech, or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of generative
artificial intelligence or other digital technology to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video.
Section 2.
disclosure requirements -- exceptions. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), a person, corporation,
committee, political party, or other entity, working in an official election capacity, may not, within 60 days of the
initiation of voting in an election at which a candidate for elective office appears on the ballot, distribute,
disseminate, publish, broadcast, transmit, or display pay for or sponsor the production, creation, or
of an election communication or an electioneering communication that the person, corporation, committee, - 2025
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political party, or other entity knew or should have known is a deepfake of a candidate or political party on the
ballot.
(b) The prohibition in subsection (1)(a) does not apply to an election communication or
electioneering communication that includes a disclosure stating, "This _____ (image/audio/video/multimedia)
has been significantly edited by artificial intelligence and depicts speech or conduct that falsely appears to be
authentic or truthful".
(c) The disclosure required in subsection (1)(b) must:
(i) for a printed communication, be stated in bold font with a font size of at least 12 points;
(ii) for a television or video communication, be clearly readable throughout the communication and
occupy at least 4% of the vertical picture height;
(iii) for a public internet communication that includes text or graphic components, be viewable
without the user taking any action and be large enough to be clearly readable; or
(iv) for an audio component of a communication, be at least 10 seconds 8 seconds in length and
be spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at either the beginning or the end of the audio component
of the communication.
(2) The following exceptions apply to this section prohibition in subsection (1)(a) and the penalties
in [sections 3 and 4] do not apply to the following:
(a) A a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable television, satellite television, or
streaming service operator, or website, or programmer, or producer, may broadcast an advertisement or
transmit a deepfake as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot
coverage of a bona fide news event if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content context or a
disclaimer, in a manner that can be easily read or heard, that the advertisement was content being broadcast or
transmitted may be generated in whole or in part by using artificial intelligence and does may not accurately
represent the speech or conduct of the depicted individual. ;
(b) A a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable television, satellite television, or
streaming service operator, or website, or programmer, or producer, may broadcast an advertisement that the
station or streaming service is paid to broadcast if the station or streaming service shows that its disclosure
requirements are consistent with the requirements provided in subsections (1)(b) and (1)(c) and that it provided - 2025
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those disclosure requirements to each person that purchased the broadcast or streaming of the advertisement
when it is paid to broadcast a deepfake or in cases in which federal law requires broadcasters to air
advertisements from legally qualified candidates. ;
(c) An advertisement a deepfake that reasonably constitutes satire or parody may be published,
posted, or distributed if the advertisement includes a disclaimer consistent with the requirements provided in
subsections (1)(b) and (1)(c). ;
(d) A a distribution platform may publish, post, or distribute an advertisement or a prerecorded
phone message if the distribution platform shows that its disclaimer requirements are consistent with the
requirements provided in subsections (1)(b) and (1)(c) and that it provided those disclaimer requirements to the
person that purchased the distribution of the advertisement or prerecorded phone message by or on the
distribution platform. ; or
(e) a provider of an interactive computer service as defined in 47 U.S.C. 230, or an information
service or a telecommunications service, both as defined in 47 U.S.C. 153, for content provided by another
party.
Section 3. (1) In addition to any other penalties or remedies provided by
law, a candidate or political party representing the candidate aggrieved by a violation of [section 2] may
maintain an action against any violator in any court of equitable jurisdiction to prevent, restrain, or enjoin the
violation.
(2) An action commenced pursuant to subsection (1) must be expedited by the district court and
given preference over all other matters currently before the district court upon showing of present or ongoing
harm.
(3) If a violation of [section 2] is established, the court shall enjoin and restrain to otherwise prohibit
the violation and, in addition, shall assess in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant the costs of the suit
and reasonable attorney fees.
(4) In the action, it is not necessary that actual damages to the plaintiff be alleged or proved, but
when alleged and proved, the plaintiff in the action, in addition to injunctive relief and fees and costs of suit, is
entitled to recover from the defendant the amount of actual damages sustained by the plaintiff and up to - 2025
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$10,000 in punitive damages.
(5) In any civil action alleging a violation of [section 2], the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing
the violation by clear and convincing evidence.
Section 4. (1) A complaint of [section 2] may be filed with the commissioner of political
practices pursuant to 13-37-111. A sufficiency finding from the commissioner of an investigation into a
complaint filed under 13-37-111 is subject to civil penalties under 13-37-128 imposed by the commissioner or
county attorney.
(2) A second sufficiency finding by the commissioner must be referred to the county attorney for
misdemeanor prosecution. Upon conviction, a violation is punishable by a fine of not more than $500,
imprisonment in county jail for not more than 6 months, or both.
(3) A third sufficiency finding by the commissioner must be referred to the attorney general or
county attorney for felony prosecution. Upon conviction, a violation is punishable by a fine of not more than
$5,000, imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 2 years, or both.
(4) All penalties accruing under this section are cumulative to each other, and a suit for or recovery
of one is not a bar to the recovery of any other penalty.
(5) A prosecution under this section is not a bar to enforcement by injunction or other appropriate
civil or administrative remedies.
Section 5. [Sections 1 through 4] are intended to be codified as a new part
of Title 13, chapter 35, and the provisions of Title 13, chapter 35, apply to [sections 1 through 4].
Section 6. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the
invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in
effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.
- END - I hereby certify that the within bill,
SB 25, originated in the Senate.
___________________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
___________________________________________
President of the Senate
Signed this _______________________________day
of____________________________________, 2025.
___________________________________________
Speaker of the House
Signed this _______________________________day
of____________________________________, 2025. SENATE BILL NO. 25
INTRODUCED BY J. ELLIS
BY REQUEST OF THE STATE ADMINISTRATION AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS INTERIM COMMITTEE
AN ACT REGULATING THE USE OF DEEPFAKES IN ELECTION COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS;
PROVIDING FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF, ACTUAL DAMAGES, AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES; PROVIDING FOR
THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF POLITICAL PRACTICES; AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES.”