Arizona Statutes § 16-1023 Deepfakes; candidates; political parties; exemptions; violation; classification; definitions

Statute Text

A. Within ninety days before an election at which a candidate for elected office will appear on the ballot, a person who acts as a creator shall not create and distribute a synthetic media message that the person knows is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake of that candidate that is on that ballot unless the synthetic media message includes a clear and conspicuous disclosure that conveys to a reasonable person that the media includes content generated by artificial intelligence.

B. This section does not apply to:

1. Media that constitutes satire or parody.

2. An interactive computer service as defined in 47 United States Code section 230 .

C. A person who fails to make the disclosure required under this section is liable for the civil penalty prescribed by section 16-937 , subsection B, for each day that they distribute the deceptive and fraudulent deepfake without such disclosure.

D. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Creator":

(a) Means any person that uses artificial intelligence or other digital technology to generate synthetic media.

(b) Does not include the provider of any technology used in the creation of synthetic media.

2. "Deceptive and fraudulent deepfake" means synthetic media that depicts a candidate with knowledge of its falsity and the intent to injure the reputation of the candidate and that is intentionally calculated to mislead a reasonable person into concluding that a real individual said or did something that they did not say or do in reality.

3. "Synthetic media" means an image, audio recording or video recording of an individual's appearance, speech or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio or video.

History

Added by L. 2024 , ch. 199 , s. 1 , eff. 9/14/2024 .