Artificial Intelligence was the talk of the NAB Convention last week. Seemingly, not a session took place without some discussion of the impact of AI. One area that we have written about many times is the impact of AI on political advertising. Legislative consideration of that issue has exploded in the first quarter of 2024, as over 40 state legislatures considered bills to regulate the use of AI (or “deep fakes” or “synthetic media”) in political advertising – some purporting to ban the use entirely, with most allowing the use if it is labeled to disclose to the public that the images or voices that they are experiencing did not actually happen in the way that they are portrayed. While over 40 states considered legislation in the first quarter, only 11 have thus far adopted laws covering AI in political ads, up from 5 in December when we reported on the legislation adopted in Michigan late last year.
The new states that have adopted legislation regulating AI in political ads in 2024 are Idaho, Indiana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin. These join Michigan, California, Texas, Minnesota, and Washington State which had adopted such legislation before the start of this year. Broadcasters and other media companies need to carefully review all of these laws. Each of these laws is unique – there is no standard legislation that has been adopted across multiple states. Some have criminal penalties, while others simply imposing civil liability. Media companies need to be aware of the specifics of each of these bills to assess their obligations under these new laws as we enter this election season where political actors seem to be getting more and more aggressive in their attacks on candidates and other political figures.
