REAL Political Advertisements Act

Subjects: Government Operations and Politics


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1596 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1596

 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide further 
    transparency and accountability for the use of content that is 
   generated by artificial intelligence (generative AI) in political 
advertisements by requiring such advertisements to include a statement 
within the contents of the advertisements if generative AI was used to 
  generate any image or video footage in the advertisements, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 15, 2023

Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                        Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide further 
    transparency and accountability for the use of content that is 
   generated by artificial intelligence (generative AI) in political 
advertisements by requiring such advertisements to include a statement 
within the contents of the advertisements if generative AI was used to 
  generate any image or video footage in the advertisements, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Require the Exposure of AI-Led 
Political Advertisements Act'' or the ``REAL Political Advertisements 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the revolutionary innovations in generative artificial 
        intelligence (generative AI) and the potential for their use in 
        exacerbating and spreading misinformation and disinformation at 
        scale and with unprecedented speed requires Congress and the 
        Federal Election Commission to take action to protect against 
        the use of generative AI that harms our democracy; and
            (2) free and fair elections require transparency and 
        accountability, which allow the public to make informed 
        decisions and hold public officials accountable.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATION.

    (a) Expansion to Online Communications.--
            (1) Application to qualified internet and digital 
        communications.--
                    (A) In general.--Subparagraph (A) of section 
                304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 
                (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``or 
                satellite communication'' each place it appears in 
                clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting ``satellite, or 
                qualified internet or digital communication''.
                    (B) Qualified internet or digital communication.--
                Paragraph (3) of section 304(f) of the Federal Election 
                Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)) is amended 
                by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) Qualified internet or digital 
                communication.--The term `qualified internet or digital 
                communication' means any communication that is placed 
                or promoted for a fee on an online platform.''.
                    (C) Nonapplication of relevant electorate to online 
                communications.--Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of the 
                Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
                30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by striking ``a 
                communication'' and inserting ``any broadcast, cable, 
                or satellite communication''.
            (2) News exemption.--Section 304(f)(3)(B)(i) of the Federal 
        Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is 
        amended to read as follows:
                            ``(i) a communication appearing in a news 
                        story, commentary, or editorial distributed 
                        through the facilities of any broadcasting 
                        station or any online or digital newspaper, 
                        magazine, publication, periodical, blog, or 
                        platform, unless such broadcasting, online, or 
                        digital facilities are owned or controlled by 
                        any political party, political committee, or 
                        candidate;''.
    (b) Definition of Online Platform.--Section 301 of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(27) Online platform.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `online platform' means 
                any public-facing website, web application, or digital 
                application (including a social network, ad network, or 
                search engine) that--
                            ``(i)(I) sells qualified political 
                        advertisements; and
                            ``(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique 
                        monthly United States visitors or users for a 
                        majority of months during the preceding 12 
                        months; or
                            ``(ii) is a third-party advertising vendor 
                        that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly 
                        United States visitors in the aggregate on any 
                        advertisement space that it has sold or bought 
                        for a majority of months during the preceding 
                        12 months, as measured by an independent 
                        digital ratings service accredited by the Media 
                        Ratings Council (or its successor).
                    ``(B) Qualified political advertisement.--For 
                purposes of this paragraph, the term `qualified 
                political advertisement' means any advertisement 
                (including search engine marketing, display 
                advertisements, video advertisements, native 
                advertisements, and sponsorships) that--
                            ``(i) is made by or on behalf of a 
                        candidate; or
                            ``(ii) communicates a message relating to 
                        any political matter of national importance, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) a candidate;
                                    ``(II) any election to Federal 
                                office; or
                                    ``(III) a national legislative 
                                issue of public importance.
                    ``(C) Third-party advertising vendor defined.--For 
                purposes of this paragraph, the term `third-party 
                advertising vendor' includes any third-party 
                advertising vendor network, advertising agency, 
                advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving 
                company that buys and sells advertisement space on 
                behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search 
                engines, digital applications, or social media 
                sites.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to any communication made on or after January 1, 
2024, and shall take effect without regard to whether or not the 
Federal Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 
such amendments.

SEC. 4. REQUIRING DISCLAIMERS ON ADVERTISEMENTS CONTAINING CONTENT 
              GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

    (a) Requirement.--Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 
of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(e) Special Disclaimer for Communications Containing Content 
Generated by Artificial Intelligence.--
            ``(1) Requirement.--If a communication described in 
        subsection (a) contains an image or video footage that was 
        generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial 
        intelligence (generative AI), the communication shall include, 
        in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement that the 
        communication contains such an image or footage.
            ``(2) Safe harbor for determining clear and conspicuous 
        manner.--A statement required under this subsection shall be 
        considered to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner if the 
        statement meets the following requirements:
                    ``(A) Text or graphic communications.--In the case 
                of a text or graphic communication, the statement--
                            ``(i) appears in letters at least as large 
                        as the majority of the text in the 
                        communication; and
                            ``(ii) meets the requirements of paragraphs 
                        (2) and (3) of subsection (c).
                    ``(B) Audio communications.--In the case of an 
                audio communication, the statement is spoken in a 
                clearly audible and intelligible manner at the 
                beginning or end of the communication and lasts at 
                least 3 seconds.
                    ``(C) Video communications.--In the case of a video 
                communication that also includes audio, the statement--
                            ``(i) is included at either the beginning 
                        or the end of the communication; and
                            ``(ii) is made both in--
                                    ``(I) a written format that meets 
                                the requirements of subparagraph (A) 
                                and appears for at least 4 seconds; and
                                    ``(II) an audible format that meets 
                                the requirements of subparagraph (B).
                    ``(D) Other communications.--In the case of any 
                other type of communication, the statement is at least 
                as clear and conspicuous as the statement specified in 
                subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).
            ``(3) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Require the Exposure of AI-Led Political 
        Advertisements Act, the Commission shall promulgate a 
        regulation to carry out this subsection, including--
                    ``(A) criteria for determining whether an 
                advertisement contains an image or video footage 
                created through generative artificial intelligence;
                    ``(B) requirements for the contents of the 
                statement required under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(C) a definition of content generated by 
                artificial intelligence that considers current and 
                future uses of artificial intelligence and similar 
                technologies that have a high risk for use in creating 
                and spreading misinformation or disinformation about 
                candidates, elections, and issues of national 
                concern.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to any communication described in section 318(a) of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) made on 
or after January 1, 2024, and shall take effect without regard to 
whether or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 
regulations to carry out such amendments.

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
biannually thereafter, the Federal Election Commission shall submit a 
report to Congress that includes--
            (1) an assessment of the compliance with and the 
        enforcement of the requirements of section 318(e) of the 
        Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added by this Act;
            (2) recommendations for any modifications to such section 
        to assist in carrying out its purposes; and
            (3) the identification of ways to bring further 
        transparency and accountability to political advertisements.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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