§ 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 2 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 for content provided by another party.
(b) An individual who, within 90 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, distributes a message created using artificial intelligence or generative AI that the individual did not know and had no reasonable way of knowing that the distributed material was a deepfake, as defined in paragraph I, of a candidate, election official, or party on the state or local ballot.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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.

Legislative History

2024, 345:1, eff. Aug. 1, 2024.