FCC pursues new rules for AI in political ads, but changes may not take effect before the election
The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads
NEW YORK — The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads, though it is unclear whether new regulations may be in place before the November presidential election.
The proposed rules announced Thursday could add a layer of transparency in political campaigning that some tech watchdogs have called for to help inform voters about lifelike and misleading AI-generated media in ads.
“There’s too much potential for AI to manipulate voices and images in political advertising to do nothing,” the agency's chairwoman, Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, said Thursday in a news release. “If a candidate or issue campaign used AI to create an ad, the public has a right to know.”
But the FCC’s action is part of a federal turf war over the regulation of AI in politics. The move has faced pushback from the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, who previously accused the FCC of stepping on his own agency’s authority and has warned of a possible legal challenge.
Political candidates and parties in the United States and around the world already have experimented with rapidly advancing generative AI tools, though some have voluntarily disclosed their use of the technology. Others have weaponized the technology to mislead voters.
The FCC is proposing requiring broadcasters to ask political advertisers whether their content was created using AI tools, such as text-to-image creators or voice-cloning software. The
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