AUSTIN 性视界传媒 Lawmakers fiercely debated the role of truth, lies and consequences in elections Wednesday as the Texas House considered a proposal to require disclosures on deceptive political advertising created with artificial intelligence.
The chamber voted 102-40 to send a bill to the Senate that would ban the use of AI in political ads 性视界传媒渨ith the intent to influence an election性视界传媒 unless the ad conveys that what性视界传媒榮 portrayed did not occur in reality.
Former House Speaker Dade Phelan性视界传媒檚 House Bill 366 would require the disclosure of political advertising that uses generative AI technology to alter images, audio or video of an officeholder or candidate.
Voters deserve transparency in elections, the Beaumont Republican said.
性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檓 not the best looking man, right? I性视界传媒檝e got a big forehead,性视界传媒 Phelan said. 性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檇 love for my forehead to be a little bit smaller, but that wouldn性视界传媒檛 be reality. I性视界传媒檇 like to be 6性视界传媒2. That wouldn性视界传媒檛 be reality, right?性视界传媒
Phelan, a top GOP primary target last cycle for his performance as speaker in the previous legislative session, repeatedly said the bill is not about him.
But Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, countered that the legislation 性视界传媒 down to the bill number 性视界传媒 makes it appear to be a 性视界传媒減ersonal vendetta.性视界传媒
Phelan won his primary runoff election last year by 366 votes, according to unofficial returns. He won by 389 votes in the final tally.
The proposal would direct the Texas Ethics Commission to determine the proper form of disclosure, including the font, size and color. A violation would be a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable up to a $4,000 fine, a year in jail or both.
Some Republicans said the bill makes the TEC an 性视界传媒渁rbiter of truth性视界传媒 and that jail is too harsh of a penalty.
性视界传媒淚s it your goal to put someone in jail for political speech?性视界传媒 Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, said. 性视界传媒淏ecause that性视界传媒榮 what this bill would do.性视界传媒
Phelan said the state has more than $3.6 million in uncollected campaign violation fines and dismissed a potential $500 punishment in an expensive campaign as a 性视界传媒渞ounding error性视界传媒 equivalent to the 性视界传媒渃ost of doing business.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淚t is my goal to prevent someone from impacting or altering an election using fake media that never occurred in reality, be it AI or deepfakes,性视界传媒 Phelan said. 性视界传媒淵ou cannot distinguish between reality and this new technology. You can性视界传媒檛 tell the difference.性视界传媒
He reiterated that the potential jail time is a range of zero days to a year.
Officeholders, candidates and political committees 性视界传媒 or anyone who spends at least $100 in the aggregate on political advertising during a reporting period 性视界传媒 would have to disclose the use of AI in deceptive advertising under Phelan性视界传媒檚 bill.
Some legislators questioned whether that meant grassroots donors could face up to a year in jail for using AI in satirical content or memes. Phelan said his proposal isn性视界传媒檛 aimed at everyday social media users.
性视界传媒淪ince the bill author says he doesn性视界传媒檛 care about any memes, I went through and looked through the bill again briefly,性视界传媒 Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, said. 性视界传媒淚 was unable to find any exception in the bill for satire, for memes, for parody, for obvious jokes. I性视界传媒檓 really curious why it wasn性视界传媒檛 in the bill, but maybe I missed it.性视界传媒
A parody video by a radio show mocked Phelan last year, portraying him as drunk while trying to record a campaign ad. Campaign materials in his district falsely depicted him embracing former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Phelan filed several bills to reform Texas campaigns, including a proposal to limit out-of-state donors.
He said a class A misdemeanor 性视界传媒渋s a very common punishment when you性视界传媒檙e dealing with something as important as an election性视界传媒 性视界传媒 particularly one that could be 性视界传媒渟tolen性视界传媒 in the 11th hour with a deceptively altered video 性视界传媒渢hat could entirely change the nature of the electorate going into Election Day.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淚f it has not already happened, it will happen,性视界传媒 he warned. 性视界传媒淚 understand the heartburn on the penalty, but it性视界传媒榮 the only way to get someone性视界传媒檚 attention on something as serious as our elections.性视界传媒
The bill isn性视界传媒檛 about stopping the public from making memes and won性视界传媒檛 prevent politicians or elected officials from telling lies, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, said.
性视界传媒淎ll this bill is saying is, 性视界传媒楽hould you have to tell the truth?性视界传媒 And for once, we have a bill that says that, 性视界传媒榊eah, we have to be honest,性视界传媒櫺允咏绱綕 Capriglione said. 性视界传媒淎nd I don性视界传媒檛 understand 性视界传媒 why there are people who would oppose being forced to tell the truth.性视界传媒
Supporters of the proposal said the disclosure requirement is no different than other required transparency, such as who pays for political ads.
性视界传媒淎ll this bill says is if you性视界传媒檙e going to lie and you性视界传媒檙e going to be a liar, then tell the damn truth,性视界传媒 Rep. Christian Manuel, D-Port Arthur, said.
Phelan said images are often more powerful than words, and it性视界传媒榮 not right to deceive voters in a way that could influence the outcome of an election.
性视界传媒淭his is the beginning, I think, of a new era in ethics where the voters need to know what is real and what is not,性视界传媒 Phelan said.
Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, said it appears Phelan wants a new era 性视界传媒渂ecause you found out that when you live by the sword, you die by the sword.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淚 didn性视界传媒檛 die by the sword,性视界传媒 Phelan said to light cheers and applause inside the chamber.
