An Act Regarding Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Advertising
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1690
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: KUHN
Amends: 21-A MRSA §1014

Legislative Document
No. 1690
H.P. 1125
House of Representatives, April 17, 2025
An Act Regarding Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Advertising
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative KUHN of Falmouth.
Cosponsored by Representatives: CLOUTIER of Lewiston, MALON of Biddeford, POIRIER 
of Skowhegan, PUGH of Portland, SAYRE of Kennebunk, SUPICA of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  21-A MRSA §1014, sub-§4, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §4, is further 
amended to read:
4.  Enforcement.  A violation of this section may result in a civil penalty of no more 
than 100% of the amount of the expenditure in violation, except that a violation of 
subsection 5-B may result in a penalty of no more than 500% of the amount of the 
expenditure in violation and except that an expenditure for yard signs lacking the required 
information may result in a maximum civil penalty of $200.  In assessing a civil penalty, 
the commission shall consider, among other things, how widely the communication was 
disseminated, whether the violation was intentional, whether the violation occurred as the 
result of an error by a printer or other paid vendor and whether the communication conceals 
or misrepresents the identity of the person who financed it.  If the person who financed the 
communication or who committed the violation corrects the violation within 10 days after 
receiving notification of the violation from the commission by adding the missing 
information to the communication, the commission may decide to assess no civil penalty, 
except for violations of subsection 5-B.
Sec. 2.  21-A MRSA §1014, sub-§5-B is enacted to read:
5-B.  Use of synthetic media in political communications.  A person or an entity 
required to provide a disclosure under this section shall disclose, as part of the required 
disclosure, when an image, audio or video used in a communication has been materially 
manipulated or altered and the communication contains synthetic media.  The disclosure 
must include the words "THIS COMMUNICATION CONTAINS AUDIO, VIDEO 
AND/OR IMAGES THAT HAVE BEEN MANIPULATED OR ALTERED." 
The commission shall establish by routine technical rule, adopted in accordance with Title 
5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, criteria regarding size and placement of the disclosure 
required under this subsection.
A. For purposes of this subsection, "deceptive or fraudulent political communication" 
means synthetic media that depicts a candidate or political party with the intent to injure 
the reputation of the candidate or political party or otherwise deceive a voter and that:
(1) Appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or doing 
something that did not actually occur; or 
(2) Provides a reasonable person a materially different understanding or impression 
of the appearance, action or speech than a reasonable person would have from an 
unaltered, original version of an image, audio recording or video recording. 
B. For purposes of this subsection, "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 digital technology or in 
any other manner to create a materially deceptive or fraudulent political 
communication.
C. This subsection does not apply to:
(1) A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite 
television operator, programmer or producer, that broadcasts synthetic media as 
part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary or on-the-spot 
coverage of a bona fide news event, 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 synthetic 
media or in cases where federal law requires broadcasters to air advertisements 
from legally qualified candidates as defined by 47 Code of Federal Regulations, 
Section 73.1940 (2022);
(2) A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite 
television operator, programmer or producer, when it is paid to broadcast synthetic 
media and has made a good faith effort to establish the depiction is not a deceptive 
or fraudulent political communication or in cases where federal law requires 
broadcasters to air advertisements from legally qualified candidates as defined by 
Code of Federal Regulations, Section 73.1940 (2022);
(3) A 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 a deceptive or 
fraudulent political communication, if the publication clearly states that the 
deceptive or fraudulent political communication does not accurately represent the 
speech or conduct of the candidate; and
(4) Materially deceptive audio or visual media that constitutes satire or parody.
D. In addition to any other remedy that may be available, the commission may bring a 
civil action in the Superior Court for injunctive or other appropriate equitable relief in 
order to prohibit the dissemination of synthetic media in violation of this subsection.  
If the court finds a violation of this subsection, the court may award to the commission 
the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the 
court.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a person or an entity to disclose when an image, audio recording or 
video recording used in a political communication has been materially manipulated by 
artificial intelligence or by other means.  The bill establishes that a violation of the 
requirement may result in a penalty of no more than 500% of the amount of the expenditure 
in violation and provides exemptions for certain categories of political communications.