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New AI disclosure rule in effect for primary election
Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, right, hugs Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver after HB4, a bill to change voting laws in the state, was passed on the Senate Floor in March of 2023.
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”This video has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.”
Have you heard the phrase yet while watching political ads?
As more and more political advertisements populate your TV before Election Day and during early voting, watch or listen for AI disclosures that are now legally required.
The day before her deadline, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 182 into law. It updates the Campaign Reporting Act by requiring disclaimers for “materially deceptive media.”
The law defines materially deceptive media as an image, video or audio:
- produced in part or whole by using artificial intelligence, or AI;
- that depicts someone acting or speaking in a way they didn’t;
- is published or distributed without the consent of someone depicted;
- is made by an association profiting (more than $5,000) from independent expenditures in election cycles or contributions.
The disclosure in the law is, “this image/video/audio has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.”
If the advertisement is visual, the disclaimer needs to be displayed legibly, and if the ad is through audio media, the disclaimer has to be spoken clearly. If the advertisement has visual and audio components, it needs to be clearly spoken and written.
The new law also makes it a crime to distribute or enter into an agreement to distribute materially deceptive media to mislead voters during election cycles. A first conviction will result in a misdemeanor and a second conviction is a fourth-degree felony.
In the executive message she wrote upon signing House Bill 182, Lujan Grisham said the State Ethics Commission was concerned about its ability to enforce the new law. The governor said it’s something she’s worried about too.
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She said she planned to ask for an official opinion from the Attorney General about it. The New Mexico Department of Justice hadn’t released an opinion as of Friday evening.
The primary election, for which early voting is ongoing, is the first election the deepfake disclosure requirement is on the books.
What policies or laws do you want to see written about in Business Outlook? Send an email to mgleason@abqjournal.com.
