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Committee advances bill criminalizing malicious election deepfakes, removes broadcaster 'good‑faith' presumption
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Summary
The Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee approved Senate Bill 141 to prohibit knowingly or recklessly creating or disseminating election‑related deepfakes, establishing criminal penalties and injunctive remedies; the committee amended the bill to remove a broadcaster 'good‑faith' presumption and instead target creators and paid promoters of malicious deepfakes.
The Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee on Friday approved Senate Bill 141, a measure that would criminalize the deliberate use or dissemination of election‑related deepfakes and give state officials tools to remove or correct material misinformation online.
Committee staff summarized the bill as a prohibition on anyone who “knowingly or with reckless disregard” uses or disseminates a specified deepfake to produce materially false information about an election; violations would carry a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to five years, staff said. The bill also directs the State Administrator of Elections to act to correct or remove misinformation and authorizes the State Board of Elections to seek civil recovery for correction costs.
Debate centered on a broadcaster exemption originally drafted to include a ‘good‑faith’ requirement for paid broadcasters. Committee staff said that provision was modeled on a Delaware law that has since been repealed and that sponsors proposed removing the good‑faith presumption so the exemption would apply only to paid broadcasters generally, while enforcement efforts would focus on the originators and creators of deceptive deepfakes.
“Those exemptions are intended to get at the bad actors and not the people who publish it,” Senator Hester said during discussion, arguing the bill should target creators of malicious material rather than legitimate news outlets. Committee staff confirmed the injunctive authority in the bill would require the administrator to seek court relief, which could ask platforms or publishers to take material down once a court grant of relief is obtained.
Members asked whether broadcasters could be compelled to vet paid political advertisements and whether federal law would permit such a duty; staff and a witness said the bill’s enforcement pathway relies on court proceedings and the bill’s focus is on the creator or originator of deceptive content, not ordinary news operations.
Senator Hester moved her amendments to reflect the on‑the‑fly changes discussed in committee; Vice Chair Kagan seconded. The committee adopted the amended bill on a roll call vote, recorded unanimously, 10–0. The bill will now proceed to the next stage of consideration on the Senate floor or as required by legislative process.
