TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Even Florida’s governor is guilty of using fake, AI-made, images in political ads. But soon, he may sign a bill creating guardrails for it. That’s as some say the legislation lacks the teeth needed to truly take a bite out of the problem.
Maybe you have gotten a fake robocall from a president who wasn’t actually on the line, or you saw ads featuring words never actually said. Artificial intelligence is now a part of the political process. Campaigns, left and right, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, making ads with fake audio, video, or images like those of the former president and Dr. Anthony Fauci embracing.
“It's amazing just how real some of this is,” said state Rep. Alex Rizo (R-Hialeah).
Rizo has a bill pushing back on what he considers a misleading, even nefarious trend. HB 919 requires political ads with AI-made images, video, or audio showing something that didn’t happen— have a disclaimer noting as much. The acknowledgment has to be a certain size and length, plus there are penalties for violators. Civil fines, even a first-degree misdemeanor charge.
The bill is sitting on DeSantis’ desk — and he has until next Wednesday to act on it, which Rizo expected he would.
“The governor is doing a great job of vetting everything and making sure that we that we, again, get to the right place,” said Rizo. “I feel confident that it will be signed into legislation very soon, in fact, and then hopefully, starting next, well, this election cycle, we'll see some of that.”
There are concerns with the legislation, despite its wide bipartisan support.
Several members of the state House feel the policy lacks a clear path to enforcement.
Alleged violations would first get filed with the Florida Elections Commission and need to target those who paid for the ad. The commission would then hold hearings to determine the next steps, which can get confusing and take a while to accomplish.
“It's going to be a logistical nightmare, maybe,” said Rep. Ashley Gantt (D-Miami) during a debate on the legislation before it was approved in February. “A mess, possibly. Confusion, I think so.”
Even so — most of the legislature saw the change as, at least, a first step in the right direction on AI fakes. It’s now up to the real Gov. Ron DeSantis to decide whether to take it.
We did contact the governor’s comms team on Thursday to see if they had any updates on DeSantis' consideration of the bill. They said they didn’t have “specifics to offer at the moment.”
If DeSantis does sign, the legislation takes effect in July of this year.
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