House
File
2609
-
Reprinted
HOUSE
FILE
2609
BY
COMMITTEE
ON
STATE
GOVERNMENT
(SUCCESSOR
TO
HSB
643)
(As
Amended
and
Passed
by
the
House
March
12,
2026
)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
use
of
synthetic
media
in
campaign
1
materials,
and
making
penalties
applicable.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
68A.407
Synthetic
media
——
1
disclosure.
2
1.
For
purposes
of
this
section:
3
a.
“Person
who
is
responsible”
means
the
person
who
pays
for
4
the
publication
or
creation
of
published
material.
“Person
who
5
is
responsible”
does
not
mean
a
media
or
technology
organization
6
publishing,
broadcasting,
distributing,
or
hosting
published
7
material
on
behalf
of
another
person.
8
b.
(1)
“Synthetic
media”
means
an
image,
audio
recording,
9
or
video
recording
of
an
individual’s
appearance,
speech,
or
10
conduct
that
has
been
intentionally
manipulated
with
the
use
11
of
any
form
of
digital
technology
in
a
manner
to
create
a
12
realistic
but
false
image,
audio
recording,
or
video
recording
13
that
produces
any
of
the
following:
14
(a)
A
depiction
of
an
individual
in
appearance,
speech,
or
15
conduct
that
a
reasonable
individual
would
believe
depicts
a
16
real
individual.
17
(b)
A
materially
different
understanding
or
impression
than
18
a
reasonable
individual
would
have
from
the
unaltered,
original
19
version
of
the
image,
audio
recording,
or
video
recording.
20
(2)
“Synthetic
media”
does
not
include
content
created
21
using
digital
technology
solely
for
text
generation,
grammar
22
correction,
spelling
checks,
stylistic
editing,
or
enhancing
23
existing
content
without
creating
a
new
impersonation
of
a
24
human
likeness
or
voice.
25
2.
Published
material,
as
defined
in
section
68A.405,
that
26
contains
synthetic
media
must
prominently
include
the
words
27
“THIS
CONTENT
GENERATED
USING
SYNTHETIC
MEDIA”.
The
person
28
who
is
responsible
for
the
published
material
has
the
sole
29
responsibility
and
liability
for
inclusion
of
the
disclosure
30
required
by
this
subsection.
31
3.
The
inclusion
of
the
disclosure
required
by
this
section
32
does
not
preclude
a
person
from
pursuing
any
other
remedies
33
under
law
for
the
publication
of
synthetic
media.
34
4.
The
board
shall
adopt
rules
pursuant
to
chapter
17A
to
35
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section.
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