AI Frontier Institute

ELEC CD-AI ADVERT DISCLOSURE

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Illinois SB2996, introduced January 27, 2026 by Sen. Mary Edly-Allen, amends the Election Code by adding Section 9-9.6 to require clear and conspicuous AI-disclosure labels on qualified political advertisements. A 'qualified political advertisement' is defined as any paid advertisement—including search engine marketing, display, video, native, issue, messaging service, mobile app ads, and sponsorships—relating to a candidate for federal, state, or local office or a ballot question, where the image, audio, or video content was generated in whole or substantially by artificial intelligence. Under Section 9-9.6(b), creators, original publishers, or original distributors must include a disclosure statement formatted according to medium: graphic ads must display the statement in letters at least as large as the majority of existing text; audio ads must include a spoken disclosure lasting at least 3 seconds at the beginning or end; and video ads with audio must display the statement for at least 4 seconds and include a spoken disclosure lasting at least 3 seconds. Civil penalties under Section 9-9.6(c) are up to $250 for a first violation and up to $1,000 per violation for subsequent violations, with each distributed advertisement counting as a separate violation. Exemptions under Section 9-9.6(d) include bona fide news broadcasts that clearly acknowledge AI-generated content, broadcast stations paid to air political ads, distribution platforms with a written disclosure-compliance policy, satire or parody advertisements, and FCC-regulated businesses. Under Section 9-9.6(e), distribution platforms are not liable if they provided advance notice of disclosure requirements to distributors. Under Section 9-9.6(f), a featured candidate may seek injunctive relief in circuit court if a qualifying ad featuring them omits the required disclosure, and may recover attorney's fees and costs upon prevailing.

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