LWVUS joined over 50 partner organizations urging Congress to pass legislation to protect federal elections from the growing threat of deceptive AI-generated content.
June 27, 2024
The Honorable Charles Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
To Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell:
We, the undersigned, are writing to provide our endorsement for, and call upon you, to grant a quick floor vote on three bipartisan bills passed by the Senate Rules Committee. These bills, S. 2770, S. 3875, and S. 3897, aim to protect federal elections from the growing threat of deceptive AI-generated content (known as “deepfakes”), as well as misinformation in elections. Timely passage of these bills is crucial to safeguard our democracy.
Each of these bills would provide valuable safeguards against deceptive deepfakes in political communications.
S. 2770, Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act
● Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit the distribution of political or issue advertisements containing materially deceptive deepfakes
S. 3875, AI Transparency in Elections Act of 2024
● Requires disclaimers on election-related communications that are substantially generated by artificial intelligence within 120 days of an election.
S. 3897, Preparing Election Administrators for AI Act
● Requires the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to develop voluntary guidelines on addressing the use and risks of AI in election administration and on the spread of election-related disinformation.
Our nation needs AI and elections safeguards in place before our federal elections this fall if possible. Even in these early days, we have already seen deceptive deepfakes targeting President Biden and former President Trump. In the absence of clear law, there is every reason to fear deepfakes may impact the results of close elections, enable candidates to deny the legitimacy of authentic content, sow confusion and doubt and seriously deepen political alienation.
States have been very effective and fast moving at attempting to meet this challenge, with nearly 20 states, acting on a bipartisan basis to regulate AI and elections disinformation. However, these efforts leave elections in dozens of other states and the federal level unprotected.
With deepfakes, the public, election integrity and candidates of all political stripes lose. The Senate should approve bipartisan proposals from the Senate Judiciary Committee to address the deepfake threat to our democracy as soon as possible.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.