The Senate Rules Committee passed three bills that aim to safeguard the elections from artificial intelligence deception, with only a few months left until election day. The bills would still have to advance in the House and be approved by the full Senate to become law, creating a time crunch for rules on election-related deepfakes to take effect before they open. polls across the country in November.
The three election bills passed by the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday mark a first step at the federal level to take action on ai in elections. Speaker Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who is sponsoring the bills, noted that states have already moved forward on this issue for statewide elections. For example, 14 states have enacted a form of labeling of ai content, according to Klobuchar.
The measure with the greatest support in the committee, the Preparing election administrators for the ai Law, which passed 11-0, would direct the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to work with the National Institute of Standards and technology (NIST) to create a report for election offices on the relevant risks of ai for disinformation, cybersecurity and electoral administration. It also included an amendment requiring a report on how ai ends up impacting the 2024 elections.
The other two bills, the Protect elections from misleading ai law and the ai Transparency Law in Elections, passed the committee 9-2. The first would ban ai deepfakes of federal candidates in certain circumstances when used to raise funds or influence an election and is co-sponsored by Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Susan Collins (R-ME). The second, co-sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), would impose a disclaimer on political ads that have been created or substantially altered by ai (it wouldn't apply to things like color editing or resizing, For example). While the Protecting Elections from Deceptive ai Act couldn't regulate satire, Klobuchar noted that the ai Transparency in Elections Act would at least let voters know when satirical ads are generated by ai.
“In many ways, I fear that in 2024 we will be less protected than in 2020”
Ranking Member Deb Fischer (R-NE), who opposed the last two bills, said they were “overly inclusive and encompass previously unregulated speech that goes beyond deepfakes.” Fischer said the Protecting Elections from Deceptive artificial intelligence Act would restrict unpaid political speech, adding that “there is no precedent for this restriction in the 50-year history of our federal campaign finance laws.” Fischer also said state legislatures are a more appropriate place for these types of election regulations than the federal government.
But key Democrats on the committee urged action. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said that “in many ways, he fears that in 2024 we will be less protected than in 2020.” He said that's because “our adversaries realize that interference in our elections is cheap and relatively easy,” and Americans “are more willing to believe certain outrageous theories these days.” Added to this is the fact that “ai changes the entire nature and game of how a bad actor… can interfere with the use of these tools.”
If deepfakes are everywhere and no one believes in the election results, woe to our democracy!
“If deepfakes are everywhere and no one believes in the election results, woe betide our democracy!” Schumer said during the marking. “I hope my colleagues think about the consequences of doing nothing.”
At a press conference on the ai roadmap after the markup, Schumer highlighted the committee's approval and said they “would like to get it done in time for the election.”
