Regulon.AI — CO-HB-1147 · CO HB 24-1147 (Election Deepfake Disclosure)

Summary

Prohibits any person from distributing a communication concerning a candidate for elective office that includes an AI-generated deepfake within 60 days of a primary election or 90 days of a general election, if the person knows or has reckless disregard for the fact that the depicted candidate did not say or do what is shown. The prohibition is lifted if the communication carries a prescribed clear and conspicuous disclosure statement and meets detailed metadata and formatting requirements. Enforcement is dual-track: the Secretary of State handles administrative complaints through the existing Fair Campaign Practices Act complaint process, and the depicted candidate may bring a private civil action for injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees. Extensive carve-outs exist for news organizations, satire and parody, technology providers, interactive computer services under Section 230, and broadcasters paid to air deepfake communications.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

Dual enforcement. The Secretary of State has administrative enforcement authority through a complaint-driven process: any person who believes a violation has occurred may file a written complaint with the office, which is reviewed and adjudicated through the administrative hearing process under § 1-45-111.7. The Secretary of State promulgates rules to administer and enforce the article. Separately, the depicted candidate has a private right of action in district court for injunctive relief and damages. The plaintiff must establish the violation by clear and convincing evidence. The attorney general and any other person or entity retain the right to pursue legal action under any other law, cause of action, or tort theory. Respondents have a 10-business-day cure opportunity for curable violations in the administrative process.

Penalties

Administrative penalties: At least $100 per violation for failure to include a disclosure statement where no paid advertising is involved, or at least 10% of the amount paid or spent to advertise or promote the communication, whichever applies; the hearing officer may impose higher amounts based on degree of distribution and public exposure. Civil action by the depicted candidate: compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive or other equitable relief, reasonable attorney fees, filing fees, and costs of action, and any other just and appropriate relief. The civil action does not require proof of actual monetary harm for injunctive relief. The plaintiff bears the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence.

Who Is Covered

"Person" has the same meaning as set forth in section 1-13-109(3).

What Is Covered

"Deepfake" means an image, video, audio, or multimedia AI-generated content that falsely appears to be authentic or truthful and which features a depiction of an individual appearing to say or do something the individual did not say or do.

"AI-generated content" means image, video, audio, multimedia, or text content that is substantially created or modified by generative artificial intelligence such that the use of generative artificial intelligence alters the meaning or significance that a reasonable person would take away from the content. "AI-generated content" does not include image, video, audio, multimedia, or text content that is minimally edited, adjusted, or enhanced by generative artificial intelligence such that the use of generative artificial intelligence does not materially alter the meaning or significance that a reasonable person would take away from the content.

Compliance Obligations 2 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

CP-01 Deceptive & Manipulative AI Conduct · CP-01.6 CP-01.7 · Political Advertising

C.R.S.A. § 1-46-103(1)-(3)

Plain Language

During the 60 days before a primary election or 90 days before a general election, no person may distribute a communication about a candidate that includes a deepfake — AI-generated content falsely depicting a candidate saying or doing something they did not — if the person knows or has reckless disregard for the inauthenticity. This prohibition functions as a default ban that is lifted if the communication carries a compliant disclosure. The required disclosure must state that the content has been edited and depicts false speech or conduct, must appear in prescribed formats for visual and audio media, and must be embedded in the content's metadata along with the identity of the creation tool and timestamp. The metadata disclosure must be permanent and non-removable to the extent technically feasible. Extensive carve-outs apply: interactive computer services under Section 230 are exempt, as are news organizations that acknowledge authenticity concerns, broadcasters paid to air deepfakes, satire and parody, and technology providers that create deepfake tools. The 'candidate' definition is broad, covering state, local, and federal candidates and incumbents. Compared to states like Texas (SB 751) which impose an outright pre-election ban without a disclosure safe harbor, Colorado's approach is disclosure-based — the deepfake is permissible if properly labeled.

Statutory Text

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, no person shall distribute, disseminate, publish, broadcast, transmit, or display a communication concerning a candidate for elective office that includes a deepfake to an audience that includes members of the electorate for the elective office to be represented by the candidate either sixty days before a primary election or ninety days before a general election, if the person knows or has reckless disregard for the fact that the depicted candidate did not say or do what the candidate is depicted as saying or doing in the communication. (2)(a) The prohibition in subsection (1) of this section does not apply to a communication that includes a disclosure stating, in a clear and conspicuous manner, that: "This (image/audio/video/multimedia) has been edited and depicts speech or conduct that falsely appears to be authentic or truthful." (b) A disclosure required under this section is considered to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner if the disclosure meets the following requirements: (I) In a visual communication, the text of the disclosure statement appears in a font size no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in the visual communication. If the visual communication does not include any other text, the disclosure statement appears in a font size that is easily readable by the average viewer. (II) In an audio communication, the disclosure statement shall be read in a clearly spoken manner in the same pitch, speed, language, and volume as the majority of the audio communication, at the beginning of the audio communication, at the end of the audio communication, and, if the audio communication is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio communication at intervals of not more than one minute each; (III) The metadata of the communication includes the disclosure statement, the identity of the tool used to create the deepfake, and the date and time the deepfake was created; (IV) The disclosure statement in the communication, including the disclosure statement in any metadata, is, to the extent technically feasible, permanent or unable to be easily removed by a subsequent user; (V) The communication complies with any additional requirements for the disclosure statement that the secretary of state may adopt by rule to ensure that the disclosure statement is presented in a clear and conspicuous and understandable manner; and (VI) In a broadcast or online visual or audio communication that includes a statement required by subsection (2) of this section, the statement satisfies all applicable requirements, if any, promulgated by the federal communications commission for size, duration, and placement. (3) This section is subject to the following limitations: (a) This section does not alter or negate any rights, obligations, or immunities of an interactive computer service in accordance with 47 U.S.C. sec. 230, as amended, and shall otherwise be construed in a manner consistent with federal law; (b) This section does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer that broadcasts a communication that includes a deepfake prohibited by subsection (1) of this section as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of a bona fide news event, if the broadcast or publication clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in a manner that can be easily heard and understood or read by the average listener or viewer, that there are questions about the authenticity of the deepfake in the communication; (c) This section does not apply to a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, producer, or streaming service, when the station is paid to broadcast a communication that includes a deepfake; (d) This section does not apply to an internet website, or a regularly published newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of general circulation, including an internet or electronic publication or streaming service, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest and that publishes a communication that includes a deepfake prohibited by subsection (1) of this section, if the publication clearly states that the communication that includes the deepfake does not accurately represent a candidate for elective office; (e) This section does not apply to media content that constitutes satire or parody or the production of which is substantially dependent on the ability of an individual to physically or verbally impersonate the candidate and not upon generative AI or other technical means; (f) This section does not apply to the provider of technology used in the creation of a deepfake; and (g) This section does not apply to an interactive computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 230(f)(2), for any content provided by another information content provider as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 230(f)(3).

CP-01 Deceptive & Manipulative AI Conduct · CP-01.6 · Political Advertising

C.R.S.A. § 1-45-111.5(1.5)(c.5)(I)-(II)

Plain Language

This provision establishes mandatory minimum administrative penalties specifically for violations of the deepfake disclosure requirement. For violations that do not involve paid promotion, the hearing officer must impose at least $100 per violation, but may impose more based on distribution and public exposure. For violations involving paid advertising, the minimum penalty is 10% of the amount spent to promote the communication, again with discretion to impose more. These penalties are additive — they apply in addition to any other penalties available under the Fair Campaign Practices Act. This penalty structure creates a significant financial deterrent for well-funded deepfake distribution campaigns, since the 10% floor scales with spending.

Statutory Text

(c.5) In addition to and without prejudice to any other penalty authorized under this article 45, a hearing officer shall impose a civil penalty as follows: (I) At least one hundred dollars for each violation that is a failure to include a disclosure statement in accordance with section 1-46-103(2), if the violation does not involve any paid advertising or other spending to promote or attract attention to a communication prohibited by section 1-46-103(1), or such other higher amount that, based on the degree of distribution and public exposure to the unlawful communication, the hearing officer deems appropriate to deter future violations of section 1-46-103; and (II) At least ten percent of the amount paid or spent to advertise, promote, or attract attention to a communication prohibited by section 1-46-103(1) that does not include a disclosure statement in accordance with section 1-46-103(2), or such other higher amount that, based on the degree of distribution and public exposure to the unlawful communication, the hearing officer deems appropriate to deter future violations of section 1-46-103.