TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Artificial intelligence is becoming a growing threat to truth in politics. There are more and more political ads out there featuring deep-fake images, voices, even videos.
Fearing AI could influence voters with false information, Florida lawmakers continue to advance legislation they think will help.
After Monday’s Justice Appropriations Subcommittee in the House, the bills in both chambers each face one last committee stop before reaching their respective floors.
If approved, the legislation requires political ads to have a disclaimer when featuring AI-made images, video, audio or text showing something that didn’t happen. The House version has an effective date of July with violators facing civil fines. The Senate bill upgrades violations to a first-degree misdemeanor.
"You know, this is a brave new world,” Republican Rep. Alex Rizo, Hialeah, the House bill sponsor, said. "We as a government, we as people, just need to take a real look at what is acceptable. What can we do to put in some guardrails so that it isn’t as misleading or misrepresenting as a nefarious party might want."
Political campaigns across the country have been guilty of using AI. Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got in on it. The DeSantis War Room account posted this ad during his 2024 presidential campaign. It shows fake pictures of Donald Trump embracing and kissing Dr. Anthony Fauci. Social media site X flagged the post with a note that AI was being used.
DeSantis has yet to offer an opinion on whether he'd sign the legislation. The concept, in general, is getting bipartisan support, however. Monday’s Justice Appropriations Subcommittee sent the legislation forward with unanimous support.
“AI is here," House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell of Tampa, who was asked about the bill during a news conference this week, said. "It’s here to stay, and we have to be thoughtful and intentional about how we deal with it."
Supporters said to expect more changes as the legislation continued to move through the chambers. Among them are things like regulating how large and apparent those disclaimers need to be. The bills will eventually require a reconciliation to reach the governor. The House and Senate must approve identical versions to advance to DeSantis' desk.