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.
(A) As used in this section, "deepfake mediadeepfake media"deepfake media" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.R.C. § 3517.24(A)" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.
(B) 1 No person shall knowingly create and disseminate, or create and cause to be disseminated, deepfake mediadeepfake media"deepfake media" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.R.C. § 3517.24(A) for the purpose of influencing the results of an election without disclosing that fact as follows: (1) In the case of an image that is deepfake mediadeepfake media"deepfake media" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.R.C. § 3517.24(A), the image shall be accompanied by a written statement that the image has been manipulated. The statement shall be in a font size that is easily readable by a typical viewer and that is not smaller than the largest text accompanying the image. (2) In the case of an audio recording that is deepfake mediadeepfake media"deepfake media" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.R.C. § 3517.24(A), the audio recording shall include a spoken statement that the audio recording has been manipulated. The statement shall be spoken in a manner that is easily intelligible to a typical listener. The statement shall be made at the beginning and end of the audio recording and, in the case of an audio recording that is more than four minutes long, at least every two minutes during the audio recording. (3) In the case of a video recording that is deepfake mediadeepfake media"deepfake media" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.R.C. § 3517.24(A), the video recording shall include, for the entire duration of the video recording, a written statement that the video recording has been manipulated. The statement shall be in a font size that is easily readable by a typical viewer and that is not smaller than the largest text accompanying the video recording.
(C) 2 No person shall knowingly create and disseminate, or create and cause to be disseminated, deepfake mediadeepfake media"deepfake media" means an image or an audio or video recording that is created with the intent to deceive and that appears to depict a real person speaking or acting in a manner that the person did not actually speak or act.R.C. § 3517.24(A) for the purpose of influencing the results of an election during the period beginning ninety days before the day of the election and ending on the day of the election.
(D) A person harmed by a violation of this section has and may commence a civil cause of action for compensatory and punitive damages against the violator. The cause of action created by this division is in addition to any other cause of action available under statutory or common law.
This section creates two distinct obligations governing election-related deepfake media. The first, in subsection (B), is a disclosure-based obligation: any person who knowingly creates and disseminates deepfake media to influence an election must include a conspicuous statement that the content has been manipulated, with format-specific requirements for images, audio recordings, and video recordings. The second, in subsection (C), is an outright prohibition on knowingly creating and disseminating election-related deepfake media during the 90 days before an election through election day — no amount of disclosure cures the violation during this window.
Subsection (D) creates a private right of action for compensatory and punitive damages, supplementing rather than replacing existing statutory and common law causes of action. Notably, the bill does not define a specific class of covered entity; obligations run to any "person" who knowingly creates and disseminates deepfake media for election-influence purposes.
Except as otherwise provided in section 3599.39 of the Revised Code and except for a violation of section 3517.24 of the Revised Code, whoever violates any provision of Title XXXV of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in such title, and whoever violates division (D) of section 9.03 of the Revised Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
This section amends the existing general criminal penalty provision for violations of Title XXXV of the Revised Code (elections law) to expressly exclude violations of new § 3517.24. The practical effect is that election-related deepfake media violations are enforced exclusively through the civil private right of action created in § 3517.24(D), not through the misdemeanor-of-the-first-degree penalty that applies to other Title XXXV violations.