AI Frontier Institute

Elections: deceptive media in advertisements.

View primary source →

AB 502 (Pellerin) amends Section 20012 of the California Elections Code to strengthen restrictions on AI-generated or digitally manipulated 'materially deceptive content' in election communications. The bill revises the standard for prohibited content: instead of requiring that deceptive media be 'reasonably likely to harm the reputation or electoral prospects' of a candidate or 'undermine confidence in an election outcome,' the bill prohibits content that is 'material to a voter's electoral decisions or to public confidence in an election's process or outcome.' The prohibition applies to deepfakes or manipulated media depicting candidates for federal, state, or local office, elected officials, elections officials, and voting equipment. The bill changes the applicable time window: for candidates and elected officials, the prohibition runs 30 days before an election; for elections officials and voting equipment, it runs from 30 days before through 38 days after an election. Disclosure requirements for manipulated content are made more specific, including requirements that text appear in standard Arial Regular type, contrast with the background, meet minimum size thresholds depending on media type (e.g., at least 4 percent of display height/width for video, at least 14 point for individually distributed print), and not be condensed. Audio disclosures must be read clearly at the beginning, end, and at least every two minutes for longer content. The bill adds an exemption for content that a reasonable person would understand to be satire or parody, in addition to the existing exemption when a satire/parody disclosure is included. Enforcement is narrowed: the bill replaces 'recipient' with 'depicted individual' as the primary party authorized to seek injunctive relief or bring a damages action, though candidates, committees, and elections officials may also seek relief. Clear and convincing evidence is required to establish a violation. Exemptions remain for bona fide news broadcasts, general-interest periodicals, and interactive computer services under 47 U.S.C. §230. The bill takes effect immediately as an urgency statute to apply to the November 3, 2026 statewide general election.

← Back to the tracker