HB 1596-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

28Mar2024... 1209h

28Mar2024... 1363h

05/15/2024   1823s

2024 SESSION

24-2305

08/10

HOUSE BILL 1596-FN

AN ACT requiring a disclosure of deceptive artificial intelligence usage in political advertising.

SPONSORS: Rep. Brennan, Merr. 9; Rep. McGhee, Hills. 35; Rep. Berry, Hills. 39; Rep. Cormen, Graf. 15; Rep. Boehm, Hills. 14; Rep. Kenney, Straf. 10; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr. 14; Rep. Massimilla, Graf. 1; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Whitley, Dist 15; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10

COMMITTEE: Election Law

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill requires the disclosure of media created using artificial intelligence and deepfakes used in political advertising.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

28Mar2024... 1209h

28Mar2024... 1363h

05/15/2024   1823s 24-2305

08/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

AN ACT requiring a disclosure of deceptive artificial intelligence usage in political advertising.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1  New Section; Synthetic Media and Deceptive and Fraudulent Deep Fakes.  Amend RSA 664 by inserting after section 14-b the following new section:

664:14-c  Synthetic Media and Deceptive and Fraudulent Deepfakes.

I.  In this section:

(a)  "Synthetic media" means an image, an audio recording, or a video recording of an individual's appearance, speech, or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video.

(b)  "Artificial intelligence" or "AI" is the ability of a machine to display human-like capabilities for cognitive tasks such as reasoning, learning, planning, and creativity. AI systems may adapt their behavior to a certain degree by analyzing the effects of previous actions and operating under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight.

(c)  "Generative AI" is AI that can generate text, images, or other media in response to prompts.

(d)  "Deepfake" means a video, audio, or any other media of a person in which his or her face, body, or voice has been digitally altered so that he or she appears to be someone else, he or she appears to be saying something that he or she has never said, or he or she appears to be doing something that he or she has never done.

II.  Except as provided in paragraph III, a person, corporation, committee, or other entity shall not, within 90 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute a message created using artificial intelligence or generative AI that the person, corporation, committee or other entity knows or should have known is a deepfake, as defined in paragraph I, of a candidate, election official, or party on the state or local ballot.

III.(a)  The prohibition in paragraph II shall not apply if the audio or visual media includes a disclosure stating:  "This __________ has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence technology and depicts speech or conduct that did not occur."

(b)  The blank in the disclosure required by subparagraph (a) shall be filled with whichever of the following terms most accurately describes the media:

(1)  Image.

(2)  Video.

(3)  Audio.

(c)  For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in the visual media.  If the visual media does not include any other text, the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer.  For visual media that is video, the disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video.

(d)  If the media consists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not greater than 2 minutes each.

IV.(a)  A candidate or election official whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of paragraph II may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the publication of such deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.

(b)  A candidate or election official whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted using a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of paragraph II may also bring an action for general or special damages against the sponsor.  The court may award a prevailing party reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.  This section shall not limit or preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any other available remedy.

V.  This section shall not apply to any of the following:

(a)  An interactive computer service provider as defined in 47 U.S.C. section 230.

(b)  Any radio or television broadcasting station or network, newspaper, magazine, cable or satellite radio or television operator, programmer, or producer, Internet website or online platform, or other periodical that publishes, distributes or broadcasts a deepfake prohibited by paragraph II as part of a bona fide news report, newscast, news story, news documentary or similar undertaking in which the deepfake is a subject of the report and in which publication, distribution, or broadcast there is contained a clear acknowledgment that there are questions about the authenticity of the materials which are the subject of the report.

(c)  Any radio or television broadcasting station or network, newspaper, magazine, cable or satellite television operator, Internet website or online platform, or other periodical when such entity is paid to publish, distribute or broadcast an election communication including a deepfake prohibited by paragraph II, provided that the entity does not remove or modify any disclaimer provided by the creator or sponsor of the election communication.

(d)  A video, audio or any other media that constitutes satire or parody or the production of which is substantially dependent on the ability of one or more individuals to physically or verbally impersonate another person without reliance on artificial intelligence.

VI.  The provisions of this section are severable.  If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect August 1, 2024.

LBA

24-2305

Amended 5/20/24

HB 1596-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2024-1823s)

AN ACT requiring a disclosure of deceptive artificial intelligence usage in political advertising.

FISCAL IMPACT:         [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

METHODOLOGY:

This bill adds, deletes, or modifies a criminal penalty, or changes statute to which there is a penalty for violation. Therefore, this bill may have an impact on the judicial and correctional systems, which could affect prosecution, incarceration, probation, and parole costs, for the state, as well as county and local governments. A summary of such costs can be found at: https://gencourt.state.nh.us/lba/Budget/Fiscal_Notes/JudicialCorrectionalCosts.pdf

The Department of Justice indicates this bill would amend RSA 664 by adding a new section 664:14-c, which would prohibit the use of synthetic media and deep fakes of candidates or parties on state or local ballots.  The Department's Election Law Unit enforces the State’s election laws, including those found in RSA chapter 664.  The Election Law Unit would be responsible for investigating and prosecuting reported violations of this bill.  The Department states the Unit has finite resources and when fully staffed, the Unit has two full-time attorneys, two full-time investigators, and one investigative paralegal.  The Unit does not have specialized hardware or software that may be necessary to distinguish between genuine media and synthetic or deep fake media and it does not have the necessary specialized training.  Because of the anonymity of conduct on the Internet, investigations of reported unlawful conduct on the Internet would require additional resources to identify the responsible person.  To the extent reported violations of this bill would involve synthetic media and deep fakes distributed online, the Department would require additional resources to investigate those violations.  The Department states it is not possible to calculate the additional expenditures that would result from the bill.  In addition, enforcement of the new law would require the diversion of existing  resources from enforcement of existing election laws to investigation and prosecution of reported violations of this bill.  The additional resources required cannot be determined because the Department cannot predict:

1. How many persons will distribute synthetic media or deep fakes in violation of the proposed legislation.  

2. How many reports of violations of the proposed legislation that the Unit will receive.  

3. How many reported violations would involve synthetic media or deep fakes distributed on the Internet, where the investigations of these reported violations would require additional resources to determine the identity of the person who distributed the media or deep fake.

4. The resources that would be required to investigate and prosecute a typical violation of the proposed legislation.

5. What specialized equipment or software that might be necessary to distinguish between genuine media and synthetic or deep fake media, and the cost of such specialized equipment or software.

6. What specialized training staff would require to effectively investigate and identify  synthetic or deep fake media, and the cost of such training.

The Judicial Branch indicates it is not possible to estimate how this change in law would impact the number of filings in the courts. Because the bill would establish a new cause of action, it is expected that civil litigation would increase. Common costs for civil cases include the following:

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association