STATEHOUSE (March 26, 2024) – The governor recently signed State Rep. Julie Olthoff's (R-Crown Point) legislation into law to crack down on political deepfakes advertisements being used to spread misinformation in elections.
Artificial intelligence websites and applications make it easy to digitally alter an individual's image, audio and video to create lifelike content known as deepfakes. Fabricated election action ads can mislead and misinform voters about a candidate. Olthoff said she authored legislation to require a disclaimer when a candidate's image, audio or video was altered without the person's consent.
"AI-generated content in political ads is a growing concern nationally and here in Indiana," Olthoff said. "Having a disclaimer will help voters more easily identify fake ads, which ultimately helps protect the integrity of our elections."
Olthoff said the new law requires a disclaimer be placed on AI-generated or digitally altered media such as audio, video or images of a candidate used in campaign communication. If a label is not included, the candidate can bring a civil action against those responsible for paying for or sponsoring the fake content.
Indiana now joins only a handful of other states with laws tackling deepfake political advertisements.
Visit iga.in.gov for more information on House Enrolled Act 1133.
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State Rep. Julie Olthoff (R-Crown Point) represents House District 19,
which includes portions of Lake and Porter counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
