HB 1710-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2024 SESSION

24-2758

09/08

 

HOUSE BILL 1710-FN

 

AN ACT relative to civil actions regarding the prohibited use of synthetic media.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Massimilla, Graf. 1; Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. Gallager, Merr. 20; Rep. Wheeler, Hills. 33; Rep. Cormen, Graf. 15; Rep. H. Howard, Straf. 4; Rep. Brennan, Merr. 9; Rep. Carey, Merr. 1; Rep. Booras, Hills. 8; Sen. Watters, Dist 4

 

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill creates a civil cause of action for distribution of misleading synthetic media, and creates certain requirements and remedies for the use of synthetic media in election contexts.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2758

09/08

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

 

AN ACT relative to civil actions regarding the prohibited use of synthetic media.

 

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

 

1  New Section; Actions; Other Actions and Limitations on Liability; Distribution of Misleading Synthetic Media.  Amend RSA 507 by inserting after section 8-i the following new section:

507:8-j  Distribution of Misleading Synthetic Media.

I.  For the purpose of this section, "synthetic media" means any form of media including text, image, video, or sound, fully or partially created or modified through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.

II.  A person engages in distribution of misleading synthetic media when the person purposely distributes or makes publicly available synthetic media purported to be of or by a identifiable person:

(a) Without the consent of the identifiable person;

(b) Without displaying a conspicuous notice within the synthetic media identifying the media as synthetic; and

(c) With the intent to mislead others about the acts of the identifiable person.

III. Any person who is the subject of or is mislead by synthetic media may maintain a civil action to enjoin or restrain the distribution of the synthetic media and may in the same action seek damages from the person who distributed the synthetic media. A court may award any of the following remedies to a plaintiff prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this section:

(a) Equitable relief.

(b) Actual damages.

(c)  Costs and fees, including reasonable attorney's fees.

(d)  Exemplary damages in an amount not less than $1,000 per plaintiff.

IV.  The attorney general or any county attorney may investigate and enforce the provisions of this section.  The attorney general or any county attorney may, on behalf of the state, bring an action for temporary or permanent injunctive or other relief in any court of competent jurisdiction for any violation of this section.  The court may, upon entry of final judgment finding a violation of this section, award restitution where appropriate to any person suffering financial loss because of a violation of this section if proof of the loss is submitted to the satisfaction of the court.

V.  If the distribution of misleading synthetic media is done within 90 days of a state, county, or local election, without the consent of the identifiable person, without displaying a conspicuous notice within the synthetic media identifying the media as synthetic media, and with the intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election, the attorney general, any county attorney, city attorney, the depicted individual, or the candidate harmed by the misleading synthetic media may bring an action pursuant to paragraphs III or IV.

VI.  This section shall not be construed to prohibit any other action available in law or equity.  Nevertheless, the remedies provided in this section are the exclusive remedies for actions brought pursuant to this section.

2  New Section; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Political Advertising; Synthetic Media.  Amend RSA 664 by inserting after section 14-b the following new section:

14-c  Use of Synthetic Media.

I.  For the purpose of this section:

(a)  "Synthetic media" means any form of media including text, image, video, or sound, fully or partially created or modified through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.

(b)  "Political communication" means any form of communication by a candidate, political committee, or any person, when the content of the message expressly or implicitly advocates the success or defeat of any candidate, party, or measure at any election, or contains information about any candidate, party, measure, or election.

II.  Any political communication as defined by this section which was produced by or includes any synthetic media shall be required to disclose the use of such synthetic media.  The disclosure shall be conspicuously displayed on any printed or digital political communications, including but not limited to brochures, flyers, posters, mailings, or Internet advertising, and shall be printed or typed in an appropriate legible form to read as follows:  "This political communication was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence."  The disclosure on non-printed or digital political communications shall clearly and prominently display or orally state the following statement:  "This political communication was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence."  In the case of a political communication that is not visual, such as radio or automated telephone calls, clearly speaking:  "this political communication was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence" shall satisfy the requirements of this section.

III.  On the application of the attorney general, any county attorney, city attorney, the depicted individual, or a candidate harmed by a violation of this section, the superior court may enjoin any violation of this section.  

3  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.

 

LBA

24-2758

Revised 12/22/23

 

HB 1710-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to civil actions regarding the prohibited use of synthetic media.

 

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

 

 

Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

 

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Revenue Fund(s)

None

 

Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source(s)

General Fund

 

Appropriations

$0

$0

$0

$0

Funding Source(s)

None

 

• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No

• Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill creates a civil cause of action for distribution of misleading synthetic media, and creates

certain requirements and remedies for the use of synthetic media in election contexts.

 

The Judicial Branch states 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:

Judicial Branch Average Cost

FY 2024

FY 2025

Superior Court Complex Civil Case

$1,321

$1,347

Superior Court Routine Civil Case

 $494

 $504

Superior Court Fees

 

Original Entry Fee

$280

Third Party Claim

$280

Motion to Reopen

$160

The Department of Justice indicates the Election Law Unit within the Department enforces the State’s election laws and would be responsible for investigating and prosecuting reported violations due to the proposed RSA 664:14-c and of RSA 507:8-j.  The Department states the Election Law Unit has limited resources.  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 determine the difference between genuine media and synthetic media.  In addition, the Election Law Unit does not have specialized training regarding determining the difference between genuine media and synthetic media.  Because of the anonymity of conduct on the Internet, investigations of reported unlawful conduct on the Internet would require additional resources to determine the identity of the responsible person. To the extent that reported violations of the bill may involve synthetic media distributed online, it would take more resources to investigate those reported violations.  It is not possible to calculate the amount of expenditures that the proposed legislation would create.  

 

The Election Law Unit’s finite resources are currently devoted to enforcing the State’s existing election laws.  The bill would create a new election law that the Unit would have to enforce.  This would require the Unit to divert resources from enforcing existing election laws to investigate and prosecute reported violations of the new law.  The additional resources needed cannot be determined because the Unit cannot predict:

  • How many persons will distribute misleading synthetic media in violation of the proposed legislation.  
  • How many reports of violations of the proposed legislation that the Unit will receive.  
  • How many reported violations would involve misleading synthetic media that are 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 misleading synthetic media.
  • The extent of resources that would be required to investigate and prosecute a typical violation of the proposed legislation.
  • What specialized equipment or software might be necessary to determine the difference between genuine media and synthetic media, and the cost of such specialized equipment or software.
  • What specialized training Election Law Unit staff would require to effectively investigate and determine the difference between genuine media and deep fake media, and the cost of such specialized training.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch and Department of Justice