House approves bill to forbid deepfake use in PA campaigns
Bill would help ensure integrity, trust in elections
Rep. Tarik Khan June 23, 2025 | 4:16 PM
HARRISBURG, June 23 – The PA House today approved bipartisan legislation sponsored by state Rep. Tarik Khan, D-Phila., and co-sponsored by state Rep. Jeremy Shaffer, R-Allegheny, to forbid the fraudulent misrepresentation of a candidate in a Pennsylvania election with generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI.
Khan introduced H.B. 811 after AI was used to misrepresent candidates in elections across the country in 2024. Deepfake pictures, audios, and videos were used to trick voters thanks to rapid increases in GenAI.
“We have a duty in the commonwealth to protect our elections from bad actors,” Khan said. “I am proud to reach across the aisle to create this bipartisan bill with Representative Shaffer. I believe it’s a strong first step in protecting the public from deceptive election ad deepfakes.”
The bill would create civil penalties for the dissemination of a campaign advertisement containing an artificially generated impersonation of a candidate without consent and with the intent to unduly influence the outcome of an election in Pennsylvania.
“All voters must have confidence in elections,” Shaffer said. “This piece of legislation is a proactive approach to help protect our electoral system. Currently, there are limited laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence. The integrity of our elections is foundational to our government, and this is one small step to help protect our system.”
The bill comes at a time when the Federal Election Commission is considering a proposal to limit deepfake political content; however, it is uncertain if the FEC will take regulatory action. Under Khan’s bill, Pennsylvania would join at least 14 other states that have taken action related to AI use in campaigns.
“Deepfakes jeopardize a central tenet of our democracy – the right to choose who we want to represent us,” said state Rep. Bob Merski, D-Erie, who co-sponsored the legislation. “When voters lose the ability to make informed choices and select candidates who reflect their ideas and beliefs, the entire principle of free and fair elections loses its meaning. The good news is that today’s passage of H.B. 811 is a step in the right direction in bolstering free and fair elections in Pennsylvania.”
Under the bill, a candidate who is victimized by GenAI misrepresentation could bring a civil action against whomever disseminated it and recover punitive damages and litigation costs. A court could order the material to be removed from online, and the court could impose significant additional penalties for each deepfake advertisement.
“As the use of AI has expanded into everyday walks of life, we need to be taking action now to protect the integrity of our elections and keep deepfake materials out of the media,” said state Rep. Roni Green, D-Phila. and another of the bill's co-sponsors. “I want to thank my fellow legislators for moving this bill and helping to ensure the public’s trust in our election process.”
The bill specifies that AI misrepresentation may not be created by candidates, campaigns, political action committees, parties, firms, or associations, among others.
“I am extremely proud to be one of the co-prime sponsors of H.B. 811,” said state Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester. “Free, fair, and unmanipulated elections are the lifeblood or our democratic republic. As such, it is extremely important that we protect our citizens’ right to vote by prohibiting the fraudulent misrepresentation of a candidate. This bill will prohibit the dissemination of a campaign advertisement containing an artificially generated impersonation of a candidate without consent and with the intent to unduly influence the outcome of the election.”
The bill has the support of Common Cause of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Policy Center, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, and the technology firm Unisys.
It now heads to the state Senate for consideration.