AI-Generated Campaign Ads Evade US Election Officials’ Scrutiny

Republican members of the Federal Election Commission killed a proposal to regulate AI-generated “deepfakes” in political campaign ads.

Republican FEC Chairman Sean Cooksey, joined by two of his Republican colleagues, said in a draft notice they requested the commission discuss in the agency’s Aug. 15 meeting that the proposal goes beyond the agency’s statutory authority and the commission lacks necessary technical expertise. The proposal is unlikely to survive, since the Republican FEC members, which comprise half of the agency’s voting members, are proposing to end the pending rulemaking petition.

“The relatively limited use of AI-generated content in federal campaigns to date means there is little evidence of significant harms that would benefit from regulation,” the commissioners said.

The rise of AI has supercharged bipartisan concerns about the possibility of deepfakes--manipulated images, audio, and video of humans--to fuel disinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The issue garnered national attention in January, after a Democratic operative commissioned a robocall that mimicked President Joe Biden‘s voice. The calls discouraged Democrats from voting in New Hampshire’s primary election.

“A decision by the FEC not to regulate political deepfakes would be a shameful abrogation of its responsibilities,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen. “The idea expressed by FEC Chair Sean Cooksey that the FEC should wait for deceptive fraud to occur and study its consequences before acting to prevent the fraud is preposterous.”

The Federal Communications Commission is separately considering whether to require broadcasters to disclose when they run political ads that use AI-generated content. It’s unclear whether the proposal will be finalized before the November election.

“The FCC plans to move forward with its thoughtful approach to AI disclosure and increased transparency in political ads,” said Jonathan Uriarte, a spokesperson for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Democratic FEC Vice Chair Ellen Weintraub lent her support to the FCC’s initative in a June 6 letter.

Public Citizen asked the FEC in July 2023 to consider rules on deepfakes, or hyper-realistic audio or visual content made using AI. The group pointed to existing statutory provisions that prohibit “fraudulent misrepresentation.” While commissioners had previously deadlocked in a vote on whether such regulations would be within their jurisdiction, they unanimously advanced the petition last August.

The Republican commissioners asked the commission to approve the draft notice and authorize the Office of General Counsel to make necessary edits prior to publication in the Federal Register.