[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6088 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6088
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit the
distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an
election for Federal office, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 4, 2020
Mr. Lynch (for himself, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Cooper)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit the
distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an
election for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Deepfakes in Federal Elections
Prohibition Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALLY DECEPTIVE AUDIO OR
VISUAL MEDIA PRIOR TO ELECTION.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 325. PROHIBITION ON DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALLY DECEPTIVE MEDIA
PRIOR TO ELECTION.
``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), a
person, political committee, or other entity shall not, within 60 days
of a election for Federal office at which a candidate for elective
office will appear on the ballot, distribute, with actual malice,
materially deceptive audio or visual media of the candidate with the
intent to injure the candidate's reputation or to deceive a voter into
voting for or against the candidate.
``(b) Exception.--
``(1) Required language.--The prohibition in subsection (a)
does not apply if the audio or visual media includes--
``(A) a disclosure stating: ``This _____ has been
manipulated.''; and
``(B) filled in the blank in the disclosure under
subparagraph (A), the term `image', `video', or
`audio', as most accurately describes the media.
``(2) Visual media.--For visual media, the text of the
disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by
the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of
other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual media
does not include any other text, the disclosure shall appear in
a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For
visual media that is video, the disclosure shall appear for the
duration of the video.
``(3) Audio-only media.--If the media consists of audio
only, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner
and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average
listener, at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the
audio, and, if the audio is greater than two minutes in length,
interspersed within the audio at intervals of not greater than
two minutes each.
``(c) Inapplicability to Certain Entities.--This section does not
apply to the following:
``(1) A radio or television broadcasting station, including
a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or
producer, that broadcasts materially deceptive audio or visual
media prohibited by this section as part of a bona fide
newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot
coverage of bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly
acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in a manner that
can be easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer,
that there are questions about the authenticity of the
materially deceptive audio or visual media.
``(2) A radio or television broadcasting station, including
a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or
producer, when it is paid to broadcast materially deceptive
audio or visual media.
``(3) An internet website, or a regularly published
newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of general
circulation, including an internet or electronic publication,
that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest,
and that publishes materially deceptive audio or visual media
prohibited by this section, if the publication clearly states
that the materially deceptive audio or visual media does not
accurately represent the speech or conduct of the candidate.
``(4) Materially deceptive audio or visual media that
constitutes satire or parody.
``(d) Civil Action.--
``(1) Injunctive or other equitable relief.--A candidate
for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in a
materially deceptive audio or visual media distributed in
violation of this section may seek injunctive or other
equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of audio or
visual media in violation of this section. An action under this
paragraph shall be entitled to precedence in accordance with
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
``(2) Damages.--A candidate for elective office whose voice
or likeness appears in a materially deceptive audio or visual
media distributed in violation of this section may bring an
action for general or special damages against the person,
committee, or other entity that distributed the materially
deceptive audio or visual media. The court may also award a
prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs. This
paragraph shall not be construed to limit or preclude a
plaintiff from securing or recovering any other available
remedy.
``(3) Burden of proof.--In any civil action alleging a
violation of this section, the plaintiff shall bear the burden
of establishing the violation through clear and convincing
evidence.
``(e) Rule of Construction.--This section shall not be construed to
alter or negate any rights, obligations, or immunities of an
interactive service provider under section 230 of title 47, United
States Code.
``(f) Materially Deceptive Audio or Visual Media Defined.--In this
section, the term `materially deceptive audio or visual media' means an
image or an audio or video recording of a candidate's appearance,
speech, or conduct that has been intentionally manipulated in a manner
such that both of the following conditions are met:
``(1) The image or audio or video recording would falsely
appear to a reasonable person to be authentic.
``(2) The image or audio or video recording would cause a
reasonable person to have a fundamentally different
understanding or impression of the expressive content of the
image or audio or video recording than that person would have
if the person were hearing or seeing the unaltered, original
version of the image or audio or video recording.''.
(b) Criminal Penalties.--Section 309(d)(1) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(d)(1)) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subparagraph:
``(G) Any person who knowingly and willfully
commits a violation of section 325 shall be fined not
more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years,
or both.''.
(c) Effect on Defamation Action.--For purposes of an action for
defamation, a violation of section 325 of the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1971, as added by subsection (a), shall constitute defamation
per se.
<all>
Deepfakes in Federal Elections Prohibition Act
#6088 | HR Congress #116
Policy Area: Government Operations and Politics
Last Action: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. (3/4/2020)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text