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Political ads on TV and radio might be forced to disclose the use of AI-generated content.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel today proposed creating AI content disclosure rules for political ads. "As artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, the commission wants to make sure consumers are fully informed when the technology is used,” Rosenworcel says.
She’s particularly concerned about AI-generated political ads misleading the public by creating deepfakes of a political candidate or issue.
The AI trickery can clone someone’s voice or perform a face-swap, paving the way for bad actors to depict a political candidate saying or doing things they never did in real life. Google and Facebook’s parent Meta already require AI content disclosures for political ads running on their platforms, and now the FCC wants the same for TV and radio spots.
The rules may not be in place for the 2024 US election cycle. Rosenworcel wants the commission to act swiftly. But it first needs to vote on the proposal; if successful, it then kicks off a public comment period, after which the FCC takes a final vote.
The proceeding could also spark discussions on whether the regulator should ban AI-generated content in political ads altogether. But for now, Rosenworcel notes: "The proposed FCC proceeding does NOT propose any prohibition of such content, only the disclosure of any AI-generated content within political ads."