[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3044 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3044
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide further
transparency and accountability for the use of content that is
generated by artificial intelligence (generative AI) in political
advertisements by requiring such advertisements to include a statement
within the contents of the advertisements if generative AI was used to
generate any image or video footage in the advertisements, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 2, 2023
Ms. Clarke of New York introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide further
transparency and accountability for the use of content that is
generated by artificial intelligence (generative AI) in political
advertisements by requiring such advertisements to include a statement
within the contents of the advertisements if generative AI was used to
generate any image or video footage in the advertisements, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Require the Exposure of AI-Led
Political Advertisements Act'' or the ``REAL Political Advertisements
Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the revolutionary innovations in generative artificial
intelligence (generative AI) and the potential for their use in
exacerbating and spreading misinformation and disinformation at
scale and with unprecedented speed requires Congress and the
Federal Election Commission to take action to protect against
the use of generative AI that harms our democracy; and
(2) free and fair elections require transparency and
accountability, which allow the public to make informed
decisions and hold public officials accountable.
SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION.
(a) Expansion to Online Communications.--
(1) Application to qualified internet and digital
communications.--
(A) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section
304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971
(52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``or
satellite communication'' each place it appears in
clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting ``satellite, or
qualified internet or digital communication''.
(B) Qualified internet or digital communication.--
Paragraph (3) of section 304(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C.
30104(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subparagraph:
``(D) Qualified internet or digital
communication.--The term `qualified internet or digital
communication' means any communication which is placed
or promoted for a fee on an online platform.''.
(2) Nonapplication of relevant electorate to online
communications.--Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (52
U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting ``any
broadcast, cable, or satellite'' before ``communication''.
(3) News exemption.--Section 304(f)(3)(B)(i) of such Act
(52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows:
``(i) a communication appearing in a news
story, commentary, or editorial distributed
through the facilities of any broadcasting
station or any online or digital newspaper,
magazine, publication, periodical, blog, or
platform, unless such broadcasting, online, or
digital facilities are owned or controlled by
any political party, political committee, or
candidate;''.
(b) Definition of Online Platform.--Section 301 of such Act (52
U.S.C. 30101) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(27) Online platform.--
``(A) In general.--The term `online platform' means
any public-facing website, web application, or digital
application (including a social network, ad network, or
search engine) which--
``(i)(I) sells qualified political
advertisements; and
``(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique
monthly United States visitors or users for a
majority of months during the preceding 12
months; or
``(ii) is a third-party advertising vendor
that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly
United States visitors in the aggregate on any
advertisement space that it has sold or bought
for a majority of months during the preceding
12 months, as measured by an independent
digital ratings service accredited by the Media
Ratings Council (or its successor).
``(B) Qualified political advertisement.--For
purposes of this paragraph, the term `qualified
political advertisement' means any advertisement
(including search engine marketing, display
advertisements, video advertisements, native
advertisements, and sponsorships) that--
``(i) is made by or on behalf of a
candidate; or
``(ii) communicates a message relating to
any political matter of national importance,
including--
``(I) a candidate;
``(II) any election to Federal
office; or
``(III) a national legislative
issue of public importance.
``(C) Third-party advertising vendor defined.--For
purposes of this paragraph, the term `third-party
advertising vendor' includes any third-party
advertising vendor network, advertising agency,
advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving
company that buys and sells advertisement space on
behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search
engines, digital applications, or social media
sites.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to communications made on or after January 1, 2024,
and shall take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal
Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such
amendments.
SEC. 4. REQUIRING DISCLAIMERS ON ADVERTISEMENTS CONTAINING CONTENT
GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
(a) Requirement.--Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
``(e) Special Disclaimer for Communications Containing Content
Generated by Artificial Intelligence.--
``(1) Requirement.--If a communication described in
subsection (a) contains an image or video footage which was
generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial
intelligence (generative AI), the communication shall include,
in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement that the
communication contains such an image or footage.
``(2) Safe harbor for determining clear and conspicuous
manner.--A statement required under this subsection shall be
considered to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner if the
statement meets the following requirements:
``(A) Text or graphic communications.--In the case
of a text or graphic communication, the statement--
``(i) appears in letters at least as large
as the majority of the text in the
communication; and
``(ii) meets the requirements of paragraphs
(2) and (3) of subsection (c).
``(B) Audio communications.--In the case of an
audio communication, the statement is spoken in a
clearly audible and intelligible manner at the
beginning or end of the communication and lasts at
least 3 seconds.
``(C) Video communications.--In the case of a video
communication which also includes audio, the
statement--
``(i) is included at either the beginning
or the end of the communication; and
``(ii) is made both in--
``(I) a written format that meets
the requirements of subparagraph (A)
and appears for at least 4 seconds; and
``(II) an audible format that meets
the requirements of subparagraph (B).
``(D) Other communications.--In the case of any
other type of communication, the statement is at least
as clear and conspicuous as the statement specified in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).
``(3) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of the REAL Political Advertisements Act, the
Commission shall promulgate a regulation to carry out this
subsection, including--
``(A) criteria for determining whether an
advertisement contains an image or video footage
created through generative artificial intelligence;
``(B) requirements for the contents of the
statement required under paragraph (1); and
``(C) a definition of content generated by
artificial intelligence that considers current and
future uses of artificial intelligence and similar
technologies that have a high risk for use in creating
and spreading misinformation or disinformation about
candidates, elections, and issues of national
concern.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to communications made on or after January 1, 2024,
and shall take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal
Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such
amendments.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,
and biannually thereafter, the Federal Election Commission shall submit
a report to Congress which includes--
(1) an assessment of the compliance with and the
enforcement of the requirements of section 318(e) of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added by this Act;
(2) recommendations for any modifications to such section
to assist in carrying out its purposes; and
(3) the identification of ways to bring further
transparency and accountability to political advertisements.
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