HB 630-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0638
07/08
HOUSE BILL630-FN
AN ACTpreventing the dissemination of deepfake materials of political candidates before an election.
SPONSORS:Rep. Cormen, Graf. 15; Rep. Lane, Merr. 16; Rep. Manos, Rock. 12; Rep. McGhee, Hills. 35; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr. 14; Rep. Muns, Rock. 29; Rep. Preece, Hills. 17
COMMITTEE:Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill prevents the dissemination of deepfake materials of political candidates before an election.
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Explanation:Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0638
07/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACTpreventing the dissemination of deepfake materials of political candidates before an election.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Political Expenditures and Contributions; Political Advertising; Synthetic Media and Deceptive and Fraudulent Deepfakes. Amend RSA 664:14-c to read as follows:
Synthetic Media and Deceptive and Fraudulent Deepfakes.
I. In this section:
(a) "Synthetic media" means an image, an audio recording, or a video recording of an individual's appearance, speech, or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video.
(b) "Artificial intelligence" or "AI" is the ability of a machine to display human-like capabilities for cognitive tasks such as reasoning, learning, planning, and creativity. AI systems may adapt their behavior to a certain degree by analyzing the effects of previous actions and operating under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight.
(c) "Generative AI" is AI that can generate text, images, or other media in response to prompts.
(d) "Deepfake" means a video, audio, or any other media of a person in which his or her face, body, or voice has been digitally altered so that he or she appears to be someone else, he or she appears to be saying something that he or she has never said, or he or she appears to be doing something that he or she has never done.
(e) “Synthetic media technology” means any digital technology that can be used to produce synthetic media, including artificial intelligence or generative AI.
II. Except as provided in paragraph III, a person, corporation, committee, or other entity shall not, within 90 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute a [message] deepfake created using [artificial intelligence or generative AI] synthetic media technology that the person, corporation, committee or other entity knows or should have known is a deepfake, as defined in paragraph I, of a candidate, election official, or party on the state or local ballot.
III.(a) The prohibition in paragraph II shall not apply if the audio or visual media includes a disclosure stating: "This __________ has been manipulated or generated by [artificial intelligence technology] digital technology and depicts speech or conduct that did not occur."
(b) The blank in the disclosure required by subparagraph (a) shall be filled with whichever of the following terms most accurately describes the media:
(1) Image.
(2) Video.
(3) Audio.
(c) For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual media does not include any other text, the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is video, the disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video.
(d) If the media consists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than 2 minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not greater than 2 minutes each.
IV.(a) A candidate or election official whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of paragraph II may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the publication of such deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.
(b) A candidate or election official whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted using a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of paragraph II may also bring an action for general or special damages against the sponsor. The court may award a prevailing party reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. This section shall not limit or preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any other available remedy.
V. This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(a) An interactive computer service provider as defined in 47 U.S.C. section 230 for content provided by another party.
(b) An individual who, within 90 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distributes a [message] deepfake created using [artificial intelligence or generative AI] synthetic media technology that the individual did not know and had no reasonable way of knowing that the distributed material was a deepfake, as defined in paragraph I, of a candidate, election official, or party on the state or local ballot.
(c) Any radio or television broadcasting station or network, newspaper, magazine, cable or satellite radio or television operator, programmer, or producer, Internet website or online platform, or other periodical that publishes, distributes or broadcasts a deepfake prohibited by paragraph II as part of a bona fide news report, newscast, news story, news documentary or similar undertaking in which the deepfake is a subject of the report and in which publication, distribution, or broadcast there is contained a clear acknowledgment that there are questions about the authenticity of the materials which are the subject of the report.
(d) Any radio or television broadcasting station or network, newspaper, magazine, cable or satellite television operator, Internet website or online platform, or other periodical when such entity is paid to publish, distribute or broadcast an election communication including a deepfake prohibited by paragraph II, provided that the entity does not remove or modify any disclaimer provided by the creator or sponsor of the election communication.
(e) A video, audio or any other media that constitutes satire or parody or the production of which is substantially dependent on the ability of one or more individuals to physically or verbally impersonate another person without reliance on [artificial intelligence] synthetic media technology.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBA
25-0638
1/6/25
HB 630-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACTpreventing the dissemination of deepfake materials of political candidates before an election.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated State Impact
FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Revenue Fund None
Expenditures* Indeterminable
Funding Source General Fund
Appropriations* $0 $0 $0 $0
Funding Source None
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
Estimated Political Subdivision Impact
FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028
County Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
County Expenditures Indeterminable
Local Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Local Expenditures Indeterminable
Estimated State Impact
FY 2025
FY 2026
FY 2027
FY 2028
Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
Revenue Fund
None
Expenditures*
Indeterminable
Funding Source
General Fund
Appropriations*
$0
$0
$0
$0
Funding Source
None
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
Estimated Political Subdivision Impact
FY 2025
FY 2026
FY 2027
FY 2028
County Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
County Expenditures
Indeterminable
Local Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
Local Expenditures
Indeterminable
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to provide a complete fiscal note for this bill, as introduced, as it is awaiting information from the Department Justice. The Department was originally contacted on 01/01/25 for a fiscal note worksheet. When completed, a revised fiscal note will be forwarded to the House Clerk's Office.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch has determined that this legislation likely has a total fiscal impact of less than $10,000 in each of the fiscal years 2025 through 2028 with the additional costs being associated with an increase in litigation.
This bill adds, deletes, or modifies a criminal penalty, or changes statute to which there is a penalty for violation. Therefore, this bill may have an impact on the judicial and correctional systems, which could affect prosecution, incarceration, probation, and parole costs, for the state, as well as county and local governments. A summary of such costs can be found at: https://gencourt.state.nh.us/lba/Budget/Fiscal_Notes/JudicialCorrectionalCosts.pdf
The bill also provides for civil remedies. There is no way to predict how many such actions would occur, but the Judicial Branch has provided average cost information for civil cases in the Superior Court:
NH Judicial Branch Average Civil Case Estimates
Judicial Branch Average Cost FY 2025 FY 2026
Superior Court Complex Civil Case $1,430 $1,473
Superior Court Routine Civil Case $535 $552
Judicial Branch Average Cost
FY 2025
FY 2026
Superior Court
Complex Civil Case
$1,430
$1,473
Superior Court
Routine Civil Case
$535
$552
Common Civil Case Fees
Superior Court Fees As of 2/12/2020
Original Entry Fee $280
Third-Party Claim $280
Motion to Reopen $160
Superior Court Fees
As of 2/12/2020
Original Entry Fee
$280
Third-Party Claim
$280
Motion to Reopen
$160
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association