Title: Deepfakes in Federal Elections Prohibition Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Deepfakes in Federal Elections Prohibition Act
This bill prohibits the distribution of certain deceptive audio or visual media (i.e., deepfakes) within 60 days of a federal election and establishes criminal penalties for related violations.
The bill generally prohibits individuals, political committees, and other entities from distributing with actual malice any materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of a federal election with the intent to (1) injure the candidate's reputation, or (2) deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate.
Such prohibition does not apply to (1) audio or visual media containing certain disclosures (e.g., verbal or written statements); or (2) certain entities, such as radio or television broadcasting stations that broadcast such media with disclosures as part of a bona fide newscast.
Additionally, the bill establishes a new criminal offense related to the distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to a federal election. A violator is subject to a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both.
It also permits a candidate whose voice or likeness appears in such deceptive audio or visual media to bring a civil action for damages.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6088 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6088

  To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit the 
distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an 
          election for Federal office, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 2020

  Mr. Lynch (for himself, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Cooper) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit the 
distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an 
          election for Federal office, 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 ``Deepfakes in Federal Elections 
Prohibition Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALLY DECEPTIVE AUDIO OR 
              VISUAL MEDIA PRIOR TO ELECTION.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 325. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALLY DECEPTIVE MEDIA 
              PRIOR TO ELECTION.

    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), a 
person, political committee, or other entity shall not, within 60 days 
of a election for Federal office at which a candidate for elective 
office will appear on the ballot, distribute, with actual malice, 
materially deceptive audio or visual media of the candidate with the 
intent to injure the candidate's reputation or to deceive a voter into 
voting for or against the candidate.
    ``(b) Exception.--
            ``(1) Required language.--The prohibition in subsection (a) 
        does not apply if the audio or visual media includes--
                    ``(A) a disclosure stating: ``This _____ has been 
                manipulated.''; and
                    ``(B) filled in the blank in the disclosure under 
                subparagraph (A), the term `image', `video', or 
                `audio', as most accurately describes the media.
            ``(2) Visual media.--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.
            ``(3) Audio-only media.--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 
        two minutes each.
    ``(c) Inapplicability to Certain Entities.--This section does not 
apply to the following:
            ``(1) A radio or television broadcasting station, including 
        a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or 
        producer, that broadcasts materially deceptive audio or visual 
        media 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.
            ``(2) A radio or television broadcasting station, including 
        a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or 
        producer, when it is paid to broadcast materially deceptive 
        audio or visual media.
            ``(3) 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.
            ``(4) Materially deceptive audio or visual media that 
        constitutes satire or parody.
    ``(d) Civil Action.--
            ``(1) Injunctive or other equitable relief.--A candidate 
        for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in a 
        materially deceptive audio or visual media distributed in 
        violation of this section may seek injunctive or other 
        equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of audio or 
        visual media in violation of this section. An action under this 
        paragraph shall be entitled to precedence in accordance with 
        the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
            ``(2) Damages.--A candidate for elective office whose voice 
        or likeness appears in a materially deceptive audio or visual 
        media distributed in violation of this section may bring an 
        action for general or special damages against the person, 
        committee, or other entity that distributed the materially 
        deceptive audio or visual media. The court may also award a 
        prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs. This 
        paragraph shall not be construed to limit or preclude a 
        plaintiff from securing or recovering any other available 
        remedy.
            ``(3) Burden of proof.--In any civil action alleging a 
        violation of this section, the plaintiff shall bear the burden 
        of establishing the violation through clear and convincing 
        evidence.
    ``(e) Rule of Construction.--This section shall not be construed to 
alter or negate any rights, obligations, or immunities of an 
interactive service provider under section 230 of title 47, United 
States Code.
    ``(f) Materially Deceptive Audio or Visual Media Defined.--In this 
section, the term `materially deceptive audio or visual media' means an 
image or an audio or video recording of a candidate's appearance, 
speech, or conduct that has been intentionally manipulated in a manner 
such that both of the following conditions are met:
            ``(1) The image or audio or video recording would falsely 
        appear to a reasonable person to be authentic.
            ``(2) The image or audio or video recording would cause a 
        reasonable person to have a fundamentally different 
        understanding or impression of the expressive content of the 
        image or audio or video recording than that person would have 
        if the person were hearing or seeing the unaltered, original 
        version of the image or audio or video recording.''.
    (b) Criminal Penalties.--Section 309(d)(1) of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(d)(1)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(G) Any person who knowingly and willfully 
                commits a violation of section 325 shall be fined not 
                more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, 
                or both.''.
    (c) Effect on Defamation Action.--For purposes of an action for 
defamation, a violation of section 325 of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act of 1971, as added by subsection (a), shall constitute defamation 
per se.
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