FEC takes first step toward rules on artificial intelligence deepfakes in campaign ads

The FEC voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of publishing an amended petition filed by the advocacy group Public Citizen, which would amend the agency’s definition of “fraudulent misrepresentation” to include deepfakes, or digitally altered images designed to spread false information. This amendment would allow the commission to police the use of AI-generated images on the campaign trail. The early use of such media has raised fears that voters will be deceived on a large scale.

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The public will now have 60 days to comment on the petition.

The commission initially tabled the vote in June after the commissioners split 3-3 along party lines. The commission was divided in part due to simple formatting errors, according to The Messenger. The petition’s authors failed to cite any existing code the FEC could use to regulate the technology. Public Citizen amended the document in July and refiled it for consideration.

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The petition has the support of more than 50 Democratic members of Congress, who filed a letter to the FEC on July 13 advocating its passage. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT or Midjourney could allow candidates to “fraudulently misrepresent themselves, disrupting the democratic processes that serve our country,” they argued.

At least two presidential candidates have used AI-generated images in their political campaigns. Former President Donald Trump published images featuring AI-generated images of himself, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) published an ad featuring false images of Trump hugging Dr. Anthony Fauci.