House approves bill to forbid deepfake use in PA campaigns

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 Read more