Federal Election Commission Seeks Public Input on Banning AI Deepfakes in 2024 Campaign Ads
The FEC advances a petition to ban deceptive AI-generated deepfakes in campaign advertisements, opening the floor for public comments before full rulemaking. Commissioners express both support for election integrity and concerns over potential First Amendment implications.
The U.S. Federal Election Commission seeks public comments on a petition to prohibit the use of artificial intelligence in campaign ads ahead of the 2024 election season. The agency advances this initiative to clarify that existing regulations against fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority apply directly to deliberately deceptive AI-generated content.
Generative AI deepfakes create highly convincing but entirely false video or audio depictions of candidates, posing a significant threat to election integrity. The petition argues that these AI hoaxes inherently commit fraud because they falsely depict a candidate saying or doing things that never actually happened.
Despite unanimous advancement of the petition, commissioners voice serious concerns regarding potential First Amendment restrictions. FEC Commissioner Allen Dickerson warns that current statutes only prohibit fraudulently claiming to represent a candidate, meaning regulators face a complex challenge in tailoring new rules to block malicious deepfakes without slowing down protected political expression.