Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1044 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Johnson S.B. No. 1044
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3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to criminal offenses for the creation or distribution of
7	7	certain misleading images and videos; creating a criminal offense.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 255.004, Election Code,
10	10	is amended to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 255.004. FALSE IMAGES, VIDEOS, AND SOURCES [TRUE
12	12	SOURCE] OF COMMUNICATION.
13	13	SECTION 2. Section 255.004, Election Code, is amended by
14	14	amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections (d-1)
15	15	and (d-2) to read as follows:
16	16	(c) An offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (d) [this
17	17	section] is a Class A misdemeanor. An offense under Subsection
18	18	(d-1) is a Class B misdemeanor.
19	19	(d) A person commits an offense if the person, with the
20	20	intent to deceive and with the intent to injure a candidate or
21	21	influence the result of an election:
22	22	(1) creates or causes to be created a deep fake video;
23	23	and
24	24	(2) publishes, distributes, or causes [the deep fake
25	25	video] to be published or distributed the deep fake video during the
26	26	period beginning 90 days before the date of the election and ending
27	27	on the date of the [within 30 days of an] election.
28	28	(d-1) A person commits an offense if the person, with the
29	29	intent to deceive and influence the result of an election:
30	30	(1) creates or causes to be created an altered image;
31	31	or
32	32	(2) publishes, distributes, or causes to be published
33	33	or distributed an altered image during the period beginning 90 days
34	34	before the date of the election and ending on the date of the
35	35	election.
36	36	(d-2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for an
37	37	offense under Subsection (d-1) if the person includes a clear label
38	38	on the image stating that the image is altered.
39	39	(e) In this section:[,]
40	40	(1) "Altered image" means an image that has been
41	41	manipulated to change the physical appearance of an individual or
42	42	depict an individual performing an action that did not occur. The
43	43	term does not include:
44	44	(A) a cartoon, caricature, or any other image
45	45	that a reasonable viewer would understand to be a satirical
46	46	representation of the individual; or
47	47	(B) an image altered only to change the
48	48	saturation, brightness, contrast, color, or any other superficial
49	49	quality of the image.
50	50	(2) "Deep ["deep] fake video" means a video[, created
51	51	with the intent to deceive,] that appears to depict a real person
52	52	performing an action that did not occur in reality.
53	53	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
54	54	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
55	55	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
56	56	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
57	57	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
58	58	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
59	59	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
60	60	before that date.
61	61	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.