Klobuchar leads bipartisan legislation to ban materially deceptive AI-generated content in political ads, as well as legislation to require a disclaimer on ads that use images or video generated by AI
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with oversight over federal elections, released the following statement on today’s bipartisan Senate AI insight forum on democracy.
“We had a productive discussion at today’s Senate AI forum on democracy with election officials, researchers, democracy groups, and tech companies. There’s broad consensus that we need guardrails in place, and today we saw tech companies announce additional actions to address AI in elections, including Microsoft’s endorsement of my bipartisan bill to ban deceptive AI in political ads and Meta’s announcement that they will require disclaimers on political ads that use AI-generated content starting next year.
But as was discussed at the forum, we need laws in place and we can’t just rely on voluntary steps. Voters deserve full transparency, and I’ll keep pushing to ban deceptive AI-generated campaign ads in our elections to combat the spread of disinformation and pass stronger disclosure laws that account for AI-manipulated content.”
Klobuchar has led efforts to address the threat of misleading AI-generated content in our elections.
In October, Klobuchar and Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) sent a letter to the CEOs of Meta Platforms, Inc. and X Corp., Mark Zuckerberg and Linda Yaccarino, respectively, seeking information on how their organizations are addressing AI-generated content in political ads hosted on their social media platforms.
In September, Klobuchar and Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law; Chris Coons (D-DE), Chair of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property; and Susan Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and former Chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, introduced the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, bipartisan legislation to ban the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate materially deceptive content falsely depicting federal candidates in political ads to influence federal elections. This legislation has also been cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
In May, Klobuchar and U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the REAL Political Ads Act. This legislation would require a disclaimer on political ads that use images or video generated by artificial intelligence. Companion legislation is led in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY).
In July, Klobuchar and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) wrote to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) encouraging the Commission to begin a rulemaking to regulate fraudulent AI-generated campaign ads.
In June, Klobuchar and U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino for answers after reporting highlighted a significant reduction of staff dedicated to countering misinformation. In light of these layoffs, the senators expressed concerns about these companies’ ability to effectively respond to election-related disinformation, including deceptive AI-generated content about elections and campaigns.
In February, Klobuchar reintroduced the Honest Ads Act with U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to improve the transparency and accountability of online political advertising by requiring online political advertisements to adhere to the same disclaimer requirements as TV, radio, and print ads.
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