Gov. Newsom to Sign Legislation Targeting AI-Generated Campaign Ads

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced his intention to sign legislation aimed at cracking down on the use of campaign advertisements altered or generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The move comes after a recent social media feud between Newsom and entrepreneur Elon Musk, who shared a video mimicking a campaign ad for Vice President Kamala Harris, featuring an AI-generated voiceover.

In a tweet, Newsom expressed his belief that manipulating a voice in an ad, such as the one shared by Musk, should be illegal. He stated that he would be signing a bill in the coming weeks to address this issue. Musk responded to Newsom’s post with a vulgarity, asserting that parody is legal in America.

While Newsom’s spokesperson, Izzy Gardon, did not provide specific details about the bill, it was mentioned that the governor’s office is working with the Legislature to address the matter through existing legislation. Several bills are currently under consideration, including one proposed by Asm. Marc Berman, titled the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024.” This bill would require platforms to block deceptive election-related content 120 days before and 60 days after an election, while also mandating the labeling of manipulated content and enabling residents to report fake or misleading content.

Another bill, AB 2839, introduced by Asm. Gail Pellerin, seeks to expand the time frame during which distributing “materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate” is prohibited from 60 to 120 days before an election. Pellerin’s office clarified that they have not had discussions with the governor’s office regarding the bill.

Pellerin emphasized the need to protect against the malicious use of AI-generated media to manipulate elections, citing the alarming ease with which convincing yet fake audio and video content can be created. She referred to the video circulated by Musk as a concrete example of the power of this technology and its potential threat to democracy.

The legislature, which has been in recess since early July, is set to return on Monday for the final stretch of the legislative session, ending on August 31.