WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE
How Is This Bill Enforced
Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.
Chapter 50 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended in section 1 by adding the following definitions:- "Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence"Artificial intelligence" means the capability of a computer system to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, content generation, and decision-making.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1)" means the capability of a computer system to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, content generation, and decision-making. "Generative artificial intelligenceGenerative artificial intelligence"Generative artificial intelligence" means artificial intelligence technology capable of creating content such as text, audio, image, or video based on patterns learned from large volumes of data rather than being explicitly programmed with rules.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1)" means artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence"Artificial intelligence" means the capability of a computer system to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, content generation, and decision-making.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1) technology capable of creating content such as text, audio, image, or video based on patterns learned from large volumes of data rather than being explicitly programmed with rules. "Synthetic mediaSynthetic media"Synthetic media" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligence.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1)" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligenceGenerative artificial intelligence"Generative artificial intelligence" means artificial intelligence technology capable of creating content such as text, audio, image, or video based on patterns learned from large volumes of data rather than being explicitly programmed with rules.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1).
Section 1 of the bill adds three new defined terms to Chapter 50 of the Massachusetts General Laws (election definitions): artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence, and synthetic media. These definitions supply the operative vocabulary for the disclosure requirements in Section 2. Notably, synthetic media is limited to audio or video content — text and images produced by generative AI are not covered.
(a) 1 Any audio or video communication that Is paid for by a candidate campaign committee, political action committee, political issues committee, political party, or a person using a contribution; Is intended to influence voting for or against a candidate or ballot proposition in an election or primary; and Contains synthetic mediaSynthetic media"Synthetic media" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligence.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1), shall: (1) Include at the beginning and end of the communication the words, "Contains content generated by AI"; and (2) Include throughout the duration of each portion of the communication containing synthetic mediaSynthetic media"Synthetic media" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligence.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1), in legible writing, the words: (i) "This video content generated by AI," if the communication includes only video synthetic mediaSynthetic media"Synthetic media" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligence.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1); (ii) "This audio content generated by AI," if the communication includes only audio synthetic mediaSynthetic media"Synthetic media" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligence.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1); or (iii) "This content generated by AI," if the communication includes both video and audio synthetic mediaSynthetic media"Synthetic media" means audio or video content substantially produced by generative artificial intelligence.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 50, § 1 (as amended by Section 1).
(b) Violation of any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000. Compliance with this section does not exempt a person from civil or criminal liability for violations of other applicable law.
Section 2 creates the bill's sole operative obligation: any paid audio or video political communication containing synthetic media must carry prescribed AI-disclosure labels. The obligation applies when three conditions are met: the communication is paid for by a candidate campaign committee, PAC, political issues committee, political party, or person using a contribution; it is intended to influence voting; and it contains synthetic media. When triggered, the communication must include the phrase "Contains content generated by AI" at its beginning and end, plus a continuous label throughout each synthetic-media portion specifying whether the AI content is video, audio, or both.
Subsection (b) establishes a fine of up to $1,000 per violation and expressly preserves existing civil and criminal liability under other law — it does not preempt or displace other election-law penalties.