NEWS: Sen. Schiff, Rep. Khanna Reintroduce Landmark Bill to Combat Fraudulent AI Generated Campaign Ads

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17) reintroduced the AI Ads Act to prohibit fraudulent misrepresentation of political candidates or committees through content generated by AI, and to codify bipartisan recommendations made by the Federal Election Committee (FEC). Schiff first introduced this legislation in the 118 th Congress while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. “AI-generated fraudulent advertising which uses the likeness or voices of candidates to misrepresent their positions, campaigns, or causes, or otherwise misrepresents a candidate’s point of view is not only wrong – it poses a serious threat to our democracy that should concern all Americans regardless of their party,” said Senator Schiff. “Fraudulent AI advertising has already proliferated in races across the country, and if Congress does not act, this runaway challenge will only get worse as AI becomes increasingly capable of blurring the lines between fact and fiction. With November elections around the corner, time is of the essence to reign in false political advertising.” “AI will transform our lives and our society in many ways, but it can’t be used to mislead voters or undermine our democracy. I’m proud to lead the AI Ads Act with Senator Schiff to ban AI-generated content that deceives the public about candidates or elections,” said Congressman Khanna. Specifically, the AI Ads Act would: Extend the prohibition of fraudulent misrepresentation, for solicitation of funds or otherwise, to content generated in whole or in part by AI; Revise the prohibitions on fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority to encompass all persons purporting to act on behalf of candidates and real or fictitious political committees and political organizations; and Remove the requirement that the fraudulent misrepresentation must pertain to a matter that is “damaging” to another candidate or political party. This bill is supported by Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause, Protect Democracy, and Public Citizen. “Deceptive AI content online can manipulate voters, which is why we need this commonsense bill to ban AI ads that misrepresent candidates,” said Abigail Bellows, Senior Policy Director for Anti-Corruption & Accountability, Common Cause. “This legislation will ensure new technology doesn’t outpace election transparency.” “Deep Fakes in campaign ads — in which Artificial Intelligence is used to produce computer-fabricated videos or voices of candidates doing or saying something they never did — has become a serious and deceptive problem in federal, state and local elections,” said Craig Holman, Ph.D., Public Citizen. “Some 30 states have passed laws to protect the conduct of state elections from such deceptive practices. It is well past time that Congress approve similar legislation to protect federal elections as well. Sen. Schiff is proposing to do precisely that with the “ AI Ads Act ,” which Public Citizen earnestly supports.” “The advancement of AI technology has created new challenges and threats to our democracy. As this technology continues to evolve, we must counter these threats and regulate the improper use of AI in our elections,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy, CREW. “CREW is proud to endorse the AI Ads Act introduced by Senator Schiff and Representative Khanna, which would help protect against the potential use of AI to confuse or mislead voters.” The full text of the legislation is available here . To read the FEC recommendations, click here . ###