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.
(1)(a)–(c) The following words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (a) "Campaign materialsCampaign materials"Campaign materials" include any materials designed to influence voters for or against any candidate, party or measure to be voted on at any election, or containing information about any candidate, party or measure paid for by a candidate, political committee or independent expenditure which requires disclosure under campaign finance laws.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(a)" include any materials designed to influence voters for or against any candidate, party or measure to be voted on at any election, or containing information about any candidate, party or measure paid for by a candidate, political committee or independent expenditure which requires disclosure under campaign finance laws. (b) "PublishPublish"Publish" means the act or instance of making campaign material available to the public, or to a list of subscribers, by mail, telephone, electronic communications platforms, internet, software applications, printed materials or any other means of distribution.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(b)" means the act or instance of making campaign material available to the public, or to a list of subscribers, by mail, telephone, electronic communications platforms, internet, software applications, printed materialsPrinted material"Printed material" shall include, but not be limited to, any notice, placard, bill, poster, dodger, pamphlet, advertisement, sign or any other form of printed publication, except notices, posters and the like, which simply announce a speaking date and invite attendance thereon.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(c) or any other means of distribution. (c) "Printed materialPrinted material"Printed material" shall include, but not be limited to, any notice, placard, bill, poster, dodger, pamphlet, advertisement, sign or any other form of printed publication, except notices, posters and the like, which simply announce a speaking date and invite attendance thereon.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(c)" shall include, but not be limited to, any notice, placard, bill, poster, dodger, pamphlet, advertisement, sign or any other form of printed publication, except notices, posters and the like, which simply announce a speaking date and invite attendance thereon.
(1)(d) "Qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d)" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e); and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.
(1)(e) "Artificial IntelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e)" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.
Subsection (1) establishes the definitional framework for the bill. The existing definitions of campaign materials, publish, and printed material are carried forward. Two new defined terms are added: qualified political advertisement, which narrows the scope of the AI-disclosure obligation to advertisements involving candidates, elections, or ballot questions that contain AI-generated image, audio, or video content made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee, or other person; and artificial intelligence, defined broadly to cover systems that perform tasks without significant human oversight, learn from experience, or generate content mimicking individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.
(2) No candidate, political committee or other person shall publishPublish"Publish" means the act or instance of making campaign material available to the public, or to a list of subscribers, by mail, telephone, electronic communications platforms, internet, software applications, printed materials or any other means of distribution.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(b), or knowingly cause to be published, any campaign materialsCampaign materials"Campaign materials" include any materials designed to influence voters for or against any candidate, party or measure to be voted on at any election, or containing information about any candidate, party or measure paid for by a candidate, political committee or independent expenditure which requires disclosure under campaign finance laws.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(a) unless it contains the following information: (a) The name of the candidate along with a statement that the message is approved by the candidate; or (b) If the message has not been approved by a specific candidate, the name of the person, political committee or organization paying for the publication of the message; or (c) If the message has not been approved by the candidate and no person, political committee or organization is identified as having paid for the publication, the entity producing the campaign materialsCampaign materials"Campaign materials" include any materials designed to influence voters for or against any candidate, party or measure to be voted on at any election, or containing information about any candidate, party or measure paid for by a candidate, political committee or independent expenditure which requires disclosure under campaign finance laws.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(a) must be identified.
(3) Publication of campaign materialsCampaign materials"Campaign materials" include any materials designed to influence voters for or against any candidate, party or measure to be voted on at any election, or containing information about any candidate, party or measure paid for by a candidate, political committee or independent expenditure which requires disclosure under campaign finance laws.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(a) through an electronic platform shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this section if the home page of the candidate or political committee provides the information required by subsection (2), and each electronic publication provides a link to that home page.
Subsections (2) and (3) carry forward Mississippi's existing campaign-materials attribution requirements without modification. These provisions require that all published campaign materials identify the sponsoring candidate, paying person or committee, or producing entity, and provide an electronic-platform safe harbor where the candidate or committee home page contains the required information and each publication links to that home page. These are pre-existing obligations that the bill does not change.
(4) 1 A prerecorded telephone message that in express terms advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or the qualification, passage or defeat of a ballot question, must bear an identification that contains the name of the candidate and a statement that the message is approved by the candidate, or the identification of the person, political committee or organization paying for the publication of the message. Except as otherwise required by law, a prerecorded telephone message subject to this subsection is not required to contain a disclaimer. If the prerecorded telephone message is generated in whole or substantially by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e), the prerecorded telephone message must contain the following disclaimer: "This message was generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e)."
Subsection (4) addresses AI-generated prerecorded telephone messages that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate, or the passage or defeat of a ballot question. These messages must carry standard attribution (candidate approval or paying party identification). If the message is generated in whole or substantially by artificial intelligence, it must include the verbatim disclaimer: "This message was generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligence." This is a format-specific obligation distinct from the broader qualified political advertisement disclosure in subsection (5).
(5)(a) 2 If a person, committee or other entity creates, originally publishesPublish"Publish" means the act or instance of making campaign material available to the public, or to a list of subscribers, by mail, telephone, electronic communications platforms, internet, software applications, printed materials or any other means of distribution.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(b) or originally distributes a qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d), the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) must include, when applicable, a clear and conspicuous statement indicating the following: (a) Whether the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) was generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e).
(5)(b) 2 If the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) is a text or graphic communication that was generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e), include a disclaimer that: (i) Indicates what information was produced by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e); (ii) Appears in letters at least as large as the majority of the text in the graphic communication; and (iii) Is in the same language as the language used in the graphic communication.
(5)(c) 2 If the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) is an audio communication that has been generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e), include a disclaimer that: (i) Is spoken in an audible, clear and intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the communication; (ii) Lasts at least three (3) seconds; and (iii) Is stated in the same language as the language used in the audio communication.
(5)(d) 2 If the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) is a video communication that also includes audio, the advertisement must include a disclaimer that includes all of the following: (i) A message that appears for at least four (4) seconds in letters at least as large as the majority of any text communication, or if there is no other text communication, in a size that is easily readable by the average and reasonable viewer; (ii) A spoken message in an audible, clear and intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the communication, that lasts for at least three (3) seconds; and (iii) The disclaiming message must be in the same language as the language used in the video communication.
Subsection (5) is the bill's core disclosure obligation. Any person, committee, or other entity that creates, originally publishes, or originally distributes a qualified political advertisement must include a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing whether the advertisement was generated in whole or in part by AI. The bill prescribes format-specific disclaimer requirements: text and graphic communications must include a written disclaimer at least as large as the majority of the surrounding text and in the same language; audio communications must include a spoken disclaimer lasting at least three seconds at the beginning or end; and video communications with audio must include both a visual on-screen message lasting at least four seconds and a spoken message lasting at least three seconds, each in the same language as the communication.
(6)(a) Subsections (4) and (5) do not apply to any of the following: (a) A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer or producer that broadcasts a qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) or communication generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e) as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary or on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, in a manner that can be easily heard or read by the average and reasonable listener or viewer, that the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) or communication was generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e) and does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the depicted individual.
(6)(b) A radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer or producer, when the station is paid to broadcast qualified political advertisementsQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d).
(6)(c) A distribution platform, including, but not limited to, a website or a regularly published newspaper, magazine or other periodical of general circulation, including an internet or electronic publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, and that publishesPublish"Publish" means the act or instance of making campaign material available to the public, or to a list of subscribers, by mail, telephone, electronic communications platforms, internet, software applications, printed materials or any other means of distribution.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(b) qualified political advertisementsQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) prohibited under this section, if the distribution platform has a clearly written and accessible policy that: (i) Is provided to any person, committee or other entity that creates, seeks to publishPublish"Publish" means the act or instance of making campaign material available to the public, or to a list of subscribers, by mail, telephone, electronic communications platforms, internet, software applications, printed materials or any other means of distribution.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(b) or originally distributes a qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d); (ii) States the qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) must include a statement consistent with the disclaimers outlined in subsection (5) of this section;
(6)(d)–(e) A qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) that constitutes satire or parody; or (e) A distribution platform, if the platform can show that they provided notice of the platform's prohibitions related to a lack of disclosure of content created in whole or in part by artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence"Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" means any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances, without significant human oversight, can learn from experience and improve performance, or can generate images, audio or videos that mimic the likeness of individuals in a near or totally indistinguishable way.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(e) in a qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) or prerecorded telephone message, in compliance with subsections (4) and (5) of this section.
Subsection (6) carves out five categories from the disclosure obligations in subsections (4) and (5): broadcasters covering bona fide news events (provided they acknowledge the AI-generated nature of the content); broadcasters paid to air qualified political advertisements; distribution platforms with a clearly written policy requiring advertisers to comply with the disclosure requirements; satire or parody; and distribution platforms that can demonstrate they provided notice of their AI-disclosure prohibitions to advertisers. These exemptions effectively shift liability from intermediaries to the persons who create and originally distribute the AI-generated political content.
(7) A person other than a committee who violates subsections (4) and (5) of this section, is subject to the following penalties: (a) For a first violation, the person is responsible for a state civil penalty and shall be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than Two-Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($250.00). (b) For a second or subsequent violation, the person is responsible for a state civil penalty and shall be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation.
(8) A committee that violates the provisions of subsections (4) and (5) shall be responsible for a civil penalty and shall be ordered to pay a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation.
(9) Each qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisement"Qualified political advertisement" means any advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements and sponsorships involving a candidate for federal, state or local office in this state, any election to a federal state or local office in this state or a ballot question that does both of the following: (i) Contains any image, audio or video that is generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence; and (ii) Is made by or on behalf of a candidate, committee or other person.Miss. Code § 23-15-897(1)(d) that is distributed, published, printed or aired to the public that violates any of the provisions of subsections (4) and (5) shall be considered a separate violation each time the advertisement is shown or transmitted, and shall be subject to the penalties as listed in subsections (7) and (8).
(10) The attorney general or a candidate for office who has been injured or is likely to be injured by a violation of this section may apply to any of the following courts for injunctive relief against a candidate, committee or other person for violations of subsections (4) and (5) of this section: (a) The Seventh Circuit Court District of Hinds County; (b) The circuit court for the county in which a party to the alleged violation committed the act or where said person resides; or (c) The circuit court for the county in which the violation of this section could deceive or influence voters in an upcoming election.
Subsections (7) through (10) establish the bill's enforcement framework. Non-committee persons face tiered penalties: up to $250 for a first violation and up to $1,000 per violation for subsequent offenses. Committees face a flat penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. Each individual distribution, publication, printing, or airing of a non-compliant advertisement constitutes a separate violation, creating significant cumulative exposure for widely aired content. Subsection (10) grants standing to both the Attorney General and any candidate who has been injured or is likely to be injured to seek injunctive relief in circuit court, with venue options in Hinds County, the county of the violation, or the county where voters could be deceived.
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.
Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2024. Because the bill did not advance, this provision is inoperative.