Senate panel weighs S23 requiring disclosure when AI creates campaign material; broadcasters seek narrow exemptions

The Senate Committee on Government Operations met Feb. 6 to discuss S23, a proposed bill that would require disclosure when campaign material is created with artificial intelligence.

Supporters at the hearing, including staff from the Secretary of State’s office, framed S23 as a transparency measure intended to give voters notice when AI was used to generate images or audio in campaign communications. Committee members spent most of the session parsing the bill’s language, identifying several practical and legal questions that would need further work.

Committee members and witnesses focused on three practical issues: (1) how the bill defines “synthetic media” and when material is deceptive; (2) whether and when a required disclosure must be made (the draft references a 90‑day window before an election); and (3) whether broadcasters and platform operators should be treated as publishers responsible for disclosure or simply as carriers of candidate-paid content.

Officials from the Secretary of State’s office told the committee they support disclosure rather than an outright ban on AI-created campaign material, noting uncertainty about the legal durability of prohibitions and potential constitutional challenges. Committee discussion referenced a recent stay in California on a state-level prohibition as evidence of unresolved legal questions.

Industry witnesses pressed for carve-outs. Representatives of the Vermont Association of…