WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Federal Communications Commission is rushing to finalize a rule mandating TV and radio advertisers disclose when they’re using AI technology in political ads.
Groups like Public Citizen which has been pushing AI guardrails, is praising the FCC’s action but admit it’s unlikely the rule will pass before the November election.
The U.S. is now hurtling toward a consequential Election Day without federal regulations on AI generated political ads.
“So, it’s entirely possible that we are going to have late breaking deep fakes that show a candidate drunk or saying something racist or behaving in outrageous ways when they’ve never said any of those things,” says Public Citizen President Robert Weissman.
Nearly two dozen states already passed bills to clamp down on AI generated images and every Big Tech CEO has promised to remove or label deep fake content posted on their platforms.
Federal legislation however remains stalled.
Before leaving for recess, Senate Republicans blocked two bipartisan bills, one to ban deep fake political ads, another to label AI generated ads.
On the floor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) argued it would be outrageous to allow the technology to go unchecked this close to an election.
She says Elon Musk’s decision to retweet an AI generated parody video that impersonates the voice of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris underscores the problem.
Musk did not include a note labeling the video as AI generated. He argues because the video was a parody it did not need a label.
Klobuchar is promising to try and pass both bills again once lawmakers return from recess in the fall.
