Sponsors (5)
Requires clear disclosures on political communications that are substantially generated or materially altered by generative AI and directs biennial FEC reports on compliance and enforcement.
The bill improves voter-facing transparency about AI-altered political content and creates standardized disclosures, at the cost of new compliance and FEC reporting burdens, legal uncertainty that could prompt litigation, and risks of chilling speech or politicized enforcement.
Voters nationwide will get clear, standardized notices when political ads contain AI-generated or materially AI-altered images, audio, or video, making it easier for voters to judge authenticity and reducing susceptibility to deepfake misinformation.
People who produce political communications (candidates, PACs, campaigns, vendors) and audiences benefit from uniform disclosure standards (text size, audible script, permanence) that make warnings easy to spot and reduce inconsistency across media.
Regular FEC reports and periodic recommendations to Congress will increase transparency about enforcement, highlight compliance gaps, and create opportunities to refine the law and reduce ambiguity for regulated parties over time.
Small campaigns, advocacy groups, and vendors will face new compliance costs to detect AI alterations and add mandated disclosures, and the FEC will incur administrative costs to produce biannual reports—shifting time and resources away from other activities.
The bill's broad definition of 'covered communication' could sweep many routine digital posts and grassroots activity into the rule, creating uncertainty that chills online speech and burdens small or volunteer-run communicators.
Requiring disclosures before the FEC issues implementing regulations and treating failure to timely answer an FEC notice as an admission for qualified-disclaimer violations increases legal uncertainty and raises the risk of expedited enforcement and civil penalties for communicators.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide further transparency for the use of content that is substantially generated by artificial intelligence in political advertisements by requiring such advertisements to include a statement within the contents of the advertisements if generative AI was used to generate any image, audio, or video footage in the advertisements, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2026 by Joseph Morelle · Last progress July 23, 2026
Requires clear, prominent disclaimers on political communications that are substantially generated or materially altered by generative artificial intelligence, and sets reporting requirements for the Federal Election Commission to assess compliance and enforcement every two years. Defines covered communications, generative AI, and what counts as substantial AI generation or material alteration, and specifies the form, placement, and duration of written and spoken disclosures for image, audio, and video content. Also amends FECA enforcement cross-references, requires a biennial FEC report with recommendations to improve the rule, and includes a severability clause so remaining provisions stay effective if part is invalidated.