Texas House passes bill requiring disclosure of AI content, altered images in political advertising

The Texas House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require the disclosure of AI content and altered images in political advertising.

The legislation, introduced by former House Speaker Dade Phelan (R), passed on Wednesday, but drew sharp criticism from several conservatives, local ABC News affiliate KVUE reported.

"If you don't think a deceptive ad can change one vote, you're mistaken. A deceptive ad could change 366 votes very easily," Phelan said, referring to the number of votes by which he won reelection.

"It's a very common punishment when dealing with something as important as an election. Especially in an election, I could say is a stolen election, when in the last 72 hours of a campaign, a video could be released that entirely changes the nature of the electorate going into election day. If it has not already happened, it will happen."

The bill, HB 366, requires any political advertising that uses altered images, including deepfake videos of a candidate or generative AI, to contain a disclosure stating that the content did not in fact occur. Failure to include a disclosure would be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

HB 366 applies to candidates, officeholders, or political committees that spend more than $100 on political advertising during a reporting period, or publish or distribute such content for compensation.

The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) would determine the rules for disclosure, regarding the details of font, size and color.

"At the end of the day, we signed up to be scrutinized by our constituents when we do something that either goes against the will of the people or goes against their perception of what the will of the people is. We signed up for this, it is as simple as that," said state GOP Rep. Nate Schatzline.

"To throw someone in jail is to silence political speech. This is insanity that we would propose such a harsh penalty for simply expressing our displeasure of an elected official. This is anti-American, this is anti-constitution."

The bill will go to the state Senate for consideration, which is controlled by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who has had a rocky relationship with Phelan over various issues in the past.