HF 2499 (LSB 5750YH (3) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2499

BY  JAMES, MADISON, STAED, NIELSEN, BROWN-POWERS, EHLERT, WILSON, KURTH, GAINES, KRESSIG, FORBES, BAGNIEWSKI, CROKEN, WILBURN, WESSEL-KROESCHELL, and KONFRST

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the publication of synthetic media concerning an election, and providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  68A.507  Synthetic media —— restrictions —— penalties.
   1.  For the purposes of this section:
   a.  “Deceptive and fraudulent deepfake” means synthetic media that depicts a candidate or political party with the intent to injure the reputation of the candidate or party or otherwise deceive a voter and that does any of the following:
   (1)  Appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or doing something that did not actually occur in reality.
   (2)  Provides a reasonable person a fundamentally different understanding or impression of an appearance, action, or speech than a reasonable person would have from an unaltered, original version of an image, audio recording, or video recording.
   b.  “Synthetic media” means an image, an audio recording, or a video recording of an individual’s appearance, action, or speech that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video.
   2.  Except as provided in subsection 3, a person shall not, within ninety days of an election at which a candidate will appear on a ballot, distribute a synthetic media message that the person knows or should have known is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake of a candidate or party on the ballot.
   3.  Subsection 2 does not apply if the synthetic media includes a disclosure stating that the image, audio, or video has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.
   a.  For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual media does not include any other text, the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is video, the disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video.
   b.  For media that consists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not greater than two minutes each.
   4.  This section does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, that broadcasts a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake prohibited by this section as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in a manner that can be easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that there are questions about the authenticity of the audio or visual media.
   5.  This section does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, when it is paid to broadcast a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake and has made a good-faith effort to establish the depiction is not a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.
   6.  This section does not apply to an internet site or a regularly published newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of general circulation, including an internet or electronic publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, and that publishes audio or visual media prohibited by this section, if the publication clearly states that the media does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the candidate.
   7.  This section does not apply to audio or visual media that constitutes satire or parody.
   8.  Notwithstanding section 68A.701:
   a.  A candidate whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of subsection 2 may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the publication of such deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.
   b.  A person who violates subsection 2 is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable by confinement for no more than ninety days and a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.
   c.  A person who violates subsection 2 with the intent to cause violence or bodily harm is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
   d.  A person who violates subsection 2 within five years of a prior conviction for a violation of subsection 2 is guilty of a class “D” felony.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the publication of synthetic media within 90 days of an election. The bill prohibits a person from publishing synthetic media, defined in the bill, that constitutes a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake, defined in the bill as synthetic media that depicts a candidate or political party with the intent to injure the reputation of the candidate or party or otherwise deceive a voter, of a candidate or political party appearing on a ballot within 90 days of the publication, unless the person complies with certain disclosure requirements. The bill does not apply to media organizations reporting on media if the organization discloses that the authenticity of the media is in doubt or that the media is inaccurate, or if the organization is paid to broadcast a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake and made a good-faith effort to establish the depiction is not a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake. The bill also does not apply to media that constitutes satire or parody.
   The bill allows a candidate whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of the bill to seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting publication of the deceptive and fraudulent deepfake. A person who publishes a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake without a disclosure is guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable by confinement for no more than 90 days and a fine of not more than $1,000. A person who publishes a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake with the intent to cause violence or bodily harm is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. A person convicted of publishing a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake in violation of the bill within five years of a previous conviction for a violation of the bill is guilty of a class “D” felony. A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245.