HB 1596-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

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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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires the disclosure of deceptive synthetic media and deceptive and fraudulent deep fakes usage 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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

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 Deep Fakes.

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)  "A deceptive and fraudulent deep fake" means synthetic media that:

(1)  Appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or doing something that did not actually occur in reality; or

(2)  Provides a reasonable person a fundamentally different understanding or impression of the appearance, action, or speech than a reasonable person would have from the unaltered, original version of the image, audio recording, or video recording.

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 synthetic media message that the person, corporation, committee or other entity knows or should have known is a deceptive and fraudulent deep fake, as defined in paragraph I, of a candidate 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 whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent deep fake in violation of paragraph (b) may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the publication of such deceptive and fraudulent deep fake.

(b)  A candidate whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted using a deceptive and fraudulent deep fake 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.

(c)  This section shall not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, that broadcasts a deceptive and fraudulent deep fake prohibited by this section as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in a manner that can be easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that there are questions about the authenticity of the materially deceptive audio or visual media.

(d)  This section shall not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, when it is paid to broadcast a deceptive and fraudulent deep fake and has made a good faith effort to establish the depiction is not a deceptive and fraudulent deep fake.

(e)  This section shall not apply to an Internet website, or a regularly published newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of general circulation, including an Internet or electronic publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, and that publishes materially deceptive audio or visual media prohibited by this section, if the publication clearly states that the materially deceptive audio or visual media does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the candidate.

(f)  This section shall not apply to materially deceptive audio or visual media that constitutes satire or parody.

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

12/10/23

 

HB 1596-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

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

 

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

 

 

Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

 

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Revenue Fund

None

Expenditures

Indeterminable

Funding Source

General Fund

Appropriations

$0

$0

$0

$0

Funding Source

None

 

 

Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

 

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

County Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

County Expenditures

Indeterminable

Local Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Local Expenditures

Indeterminable

 

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.  

 

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

 

  1. 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.

 

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

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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:

Average Costs in Superior Court

FY 2024

FY 2025

Complex Civil Case

$1,321

$1,347

Routine Civil Case

$494

$504

Superior Court Fees

As of 2/12/2020

Original Entry Fee

$280

Third-Party Claim

$280

Motion to Reopen

$160

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

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