Bill Text: NY S09678 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Relates to requiring certain notice and disclosure regarding materially deceptive media in political communications.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-07 - returned to senate [S09678 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09678-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9678--B

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 17, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Elections  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to  said  committee  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation  to  materially  deceptive
          media in political communications

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of  section  14-106  of  the
     2  election  law,  as added by section 1 of subpart B of part MM of chapter
     3  58 of the laws of 2024, is amended and a new subdivision 7 is  added  to
     4  read as follows:
     5    (b) (i) A person, firm, association, corporation, campaign, committee,
     6  or  organization  that  distributes  or publishes any political communi-
     7  cation that was produced by or includes materially deceptive  media  and
     8  [knows or should know] has actual knowledge that it is materially decep-
     9  tive shall be required to disclose this use.
    10    (ii)  (1) For visual media the disclosure shall be printed or typed in
    11  a legible font size easily readable by the average  viewer  that  is  no
    12  smaller  than  other  text appearing in the visual media and in the same
    13  language used on the communication to read  as  follows:  "This  (image,
    14  video, or audio) has been manipulated".
    15    (2)  For  communication  that  is auditory, such as radio or automated
    16  telephone calls, clearly speaking the statement at the beginning of  the
    17  audio,  at  the  end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than two
    18  minutes in length, interspersed within the audio  at  intervals  of  not
    19  greater  than  two  minutes each and in the same language as the rest of
    20  the audio used in the communication, and in a pitch that can  be  easily
    21  heard  by  the average listener satisfies the requirements of clause one
    22  of this subparagraph.
    23    (iii) This paragraph shall not apply to the following:
    24    (1) materially deceptive media that constitutes satire or parody;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15622-04-4
        S. 9678--B                          2

     1    (2) materially deceptive media [created for the purposes of]  distrib-
     2  uted  by  a  bona  fide  news [reporting when the required disclosure is
     3  included] reporting entity for the purpose of news reporting  or  cover-
     4  age,  if the reporting clearly acknowledges through content or a disclo-
     5  sure,  in  a  manner  that  can  be  easily read or heard by the average
     6  listener or viewer, that there are questions about the  authenticity  of
     7  the materially deceptive media; [or]
     8    (3)  a  radio  or  television  broadcasting station, including a cable
     9  television, satellite television or streaming service operator, program-
    10  mer, producer or other  similar  entity,  that  broadcasts  a  political
    11  communication when the station or streaming service is paid to broadcast
    12  the political communication if the station or streaming service can show
    13  that  it  has  disclaimer  requirements  that  are  consistent  with the
    14  requirements provided in this  paragraph  and  that  it  provided  those
    15  disclaimer  requirements  to  each  person  or entity that purchased the
    16  broadcast or streaming of the advertisement; or
    17    (4) initial dissemination by a platform or service including, but  not
    18  limited to, a website, regularly published newspaper, or magazine, where
    19  the  content  disseminated  is  materially  deceptive  media provided by
    20  another information content provider [when a good faith effort has  been
    21  made to establish that the depiction is not materially deceptive media].
    22    (iv)  A candidate whose voice or likeness appears in materially decep-
    23  tive media in violation of this subdivision may  seek  reasonable  court
    24  costs and attorneys' fees and injunctive relief prohibiting the distrib-
    25  ution,  publication or broadcasting of any materially deceptive media in
    26  violation of this subdivision against  such  individual  or  entity  who
    27  disseminated  or  published such media without the consent of the person
    28  depicted and who knew or should have known that it was materially decep-
    29  tive. An action under this paragraph shall be  initiated  by  filing  an
    30  application  for  an  order to show cause in the supreme court where the
    31  materially deceptive media at issue could deceive and influence electors
    32  in an upcoming election. Such action shall be entitled to  an  automatic
    33  calendar  preference  and  be  subject  to  expedited pretrial and trial
    34  proceedings.
    35    (v) In any action alleging a violation of this subdivision in which  a
    36  plaintiff seeks preliminary relief with respect to an upcoming election,
    37  the court shall grant relief if it determines that:
    38    (A) plaintiffs are more likely than not to succeed on the merits; and
    39    (B)  it  is  possible  to  implement  an appropriate remedy that would
    40  resolve the alleged violation in the upcoming election.
    41    (vi) In any action commenced under  this  subdivision,  the  plaintiff
    42  bears  the  burden of establishing the use of materially deceptive media
    43  by clear and convincing evidence.
    44    7. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require  entities  to
    45  cancel,  edit,  or  insert video or audio labels into political communi-
    46  cations where such action is inconsistent with federal law.
    47    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.