Colorado House advances bill to protect against deepfake election scams

(DENVER) — Colorado legislators debated a bill on Friday, Mar. 8, 2024, that if passed would prevent false electors and protect against scams that falsely portray political candidates using deepfake media.

“Deepfakes of candidates for elected office are created to spread misinformation and disrupt our fair election process,” said Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, one of the bill’s sponsors. “Coloradans deserve to know if the videos they are watching are fake so they can make accurate, informed decisions. Artificial intelligence poses a real threat to our elections, and our legislation is crucial in protecting our democratic process.”

If passed, the bill would make the creation of false representations of presidential candidates a crime of perjury and forgery. It would also seek to regulate deepfake-generated content that includes a candidate for elected office. That media would have to include a disclaimer that the content is not real, or truthful.

“Deepfakes can have a major negative effect on the election process and are a real threat to our democracy,” said Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, sponsor of HB24-1147. “Our legislation would safeguard our elections by requiring AI-generated deepfake content to include a disclaimer and establishing legal avenues for candidates who have been negatively impacted by deepfake technology. Colorado voters should know what candidates actually say and not be deceived by depictions of things they did not.”

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