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.
(e)(1)(A) "(A) COVERED COMMUNICATIONcovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A).— "(i) IN GENERAL.—The term 'covered communicationcovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A)' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate, refers to a candidate in the pre-election window, or solicits a contribution."
(e)(1)(B) "(B) GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEgenerative artificial intelligenceThe term 'generative artificial intelligence' means artificial intelligence technology that uses machine learning (including deep-learning models, natural language processing, or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity) to generate text, images, audio, video, or other media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(B).—The term 'generative artificial intelligencegenerative artificial intelligenceThe term 'generative artificial intelligence' means artificial intelligence technology that uses machine learning (including deep-learning models, natural language processing, or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity) to generate text, images, audio, video, or other media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(B)' means artificial intelligence technology that uses machine learning (including deep-learning models, natural language processing, or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity) to generate text, images, audio, video, or other media.
(e)(1)(C) "(C) SUBSTANTIALLY GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEsubstantially generated by artificial intelligenceThe term 'substantially generated by artificial intelligence' means an image, audio, or video that was created or materially altered using generative artificial intelligence. Such term does not include an image, audio, or video that— (I) has only minor alterations by generative artificial intelligence (including cosmetic adjustments, color editing, cropping, resizing, and other immaterial uses); and (II) does not create a fundamentally different understanding than a reasonable person would have from an unaltered version of the media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(C).— "(i) IN GENERAL.—The term 'substantially generated by artificial intelligencesubstantially generated by artificial intelligenceThe term 'substantially generated by artificial intelligence' means an image, audio, or video that was created or materially altered using generative artificial intelligence. Such term does not include an image, audio, or video that— (I) has only minor alterations by generative artificial intelligence (including cosmetic adjustments, color editing, cropping, resizing, and other immaterial uses); and (II) does not create a fundamentally different understanding than a reasonable person would have from an unaltered version of the media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(C)' means an image, audio, or video that was created or materially altered using generative artificial intelligencegenerative artificial intelligenceThe term 'generative artificial intelligence' means artificial intelligence technology that uses machine learning (including deep-learning models, natural language processing, or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity) to generate text, images, audio, video, or other media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(B). "(ii) EXCEPTION.—Such term does not include an image, audio, or video that has only minor alterations by generative artificial intelligencegenerative artificial intelligenceThe term 'generative artificial intelligence' means artificial intelligence technology that uses machine learning (including deep-learning models, natural language processing, or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity) to generate text, images, audio, video, or other media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(B) (including cosmetic adjustments, color editing, cropping, resizing, and other immaterial uses) and does not create a fundamentally different understanding than a reasonable person would have from an unaltered version of the media."
(e)(2) 1 REQUIREMENT.—When a person makes a disbursement for the purpose of financing a covered communicationcovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A) containing an image, audio, or video that was substantially generated by artificial intelligencesubstantially generated by artificial intelligenceThe term 'substantially generated by artificial intelligence' means an image, audio, or video that was created or materially altered using generative artificial intelligence. Such term does not include an image, audio, or video that— (I) has only minor alterations by generative artificial intelligence (including cosmetic adjustments, color editing, cropping, resizing, and other immaterial uses); and (II) does not create a fundamentally different understanding than a reasonable person would have from an unaltered version of the media.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(C), the covered communicationcovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A) shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement that the covered communicationcovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A) contains such an image, audio, or video.
(e)(3) 1 SAFE HARBOR FOR DETERMINING CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS MANNER.—A statement required under this subsection shall be considered to be made in a clear and conspicuous manner if the statement meets the format-specific requirements for image, audio, and video covered communicationscovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A).
This section adds a new subsection (e) to Section 318 of FECA imposing an AI-provenance disclaimer duty on political advertising. When a person makes a disbursement to finance a covered communication that contains an image, audio, or video substantially generated by artificial intelligence, the communication must carry a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing that fact. The trigger turns on generative AI having created or materially altered the media, with an express carve-out for minor or cosmetic alterations that do not change a reasonable person's understanding.
The provision includes format-specific safe harbors defining what counts as "clear and conspicuous" for image, audio, and video ads — including a mandatory spoken audio statement of at least four seconds naming the disburser and, for video, both a persistent written label and the audible statement. The definitions of covered communication, generative AI, and the voice-and-likeness rule set the scope but impose no standalone duty.
(b)(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(i)) is amended to insert 'or a qualified disclaimer requirementqualified disclaimer requirementIn this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirement' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v)' after 'a qualified disclosure requirement' and to add a new civil penalty schedule for qualified disclaimer requirementqualified disclaimer requirementIn this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirement' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v) violations capped at $50,000 per covered communicationcovered communicationThe term 'covered communication' means a communication through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, telephone bank, internet or other digital medium, or any other type of general public political advertising that expressly advocates for or against the nomination or election of a candidate; refers to a candidate in the pre-election window; or solicits a contribution.52 U.S.C. 30120(e)(1)(A).
(b)(2) FAILURE TO RESPOND.—Section 309(a)(4)(C)(ii) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting ", except that in the case of a violation of a qualified disclaimer requirementqualified disclaimer requirementIn this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirement' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v), failure to timely respond after the Commission has notified the person of an alleged violation under subsection (a)(1) shall constitute the person's admission of the factual allegations of the complaint.".
(b)(3) QUALIFIED DISCLAIMER REQUIREMENTqualified disclaimer requirementIn this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirement' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v) DEFINED.—Section 309(a)(4)(C) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)) is amended by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi) and by inserting after clause (iv) the following new clause: "(v) In this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirementqualified disclaimer requirementIn this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirement' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v)' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).".
(b)(4) APPLICATION.—Clause (vi) of section 309(a)(4)(C) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)), as redesignated by paragraph (3), is amended— (A) by striking "shall apply with respect to violations" and inserting "shall apply— "(I) with respect to violations of qualified disclosure requirements"; (B) by striking the period at the end and inserting "; and"; and (C) by adding at the end the following new subclause: "(II) with respect to violations of qualified disclaimer requirementsqualified disclaimer requirementIn this subparagraph, the term 'qualified disclaimer requirement' means the requirement of section 318(e)(2).52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v) occurring on or after the date of the enactment of the AI Transparency in Elections Act of 2026.".
(b)(5) TIME OF JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Section 309(a)(8)(A) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(8)(A)) is amended by inserting "(45-day period in the case of any complaint alleging a violation of section 318(e)(2))" after "120-day period".
This section wires the new AI disclaimer requirement into FECA's existing Section 309 enforcement framework by defining a qualified disclaimer requirement as the requirement of section 318(e)(2). Violations are subject to a civil money penalty determined under a schedule the FEC establishes and publishes, capped at $50,000 per covered communication, with penalty amounts scaling to prior violations and breadth of distribution. It also provides that a person's failure to timely respond after the FEC notifies them of an alleged disclaimer violation constitutes an admission of the complaint's factual allegations, and shortens the judicial-review window to 45 days for such complaints. These are enforcement mechanics rather than new compliance duties.
(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election Commission shall, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, promulgate a regulation to carry out the amendments made by subsections (a) and (b).
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall— (1) apply with respect to any communication made after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) take effect without regard to whether the Federal Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such amendments.
This section directs the FEC, within 90 days of enactment and in consultation with the Director of NIST, to promulgate regulations implementing the AI disclaimer amendments, including criteria for determining whether a communication contains substantially AI-generated content and requirements for the disclaimer statement's contents. Critically, the disclaimer requirement takes effect for any communication made after enactment regardless of whether the FEC has finalized regulations, so the underlying duty is not gated on rulemaking. These are rulemaking-delegation and timing provisions that impose no direct compliance duty on regulated parties.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Federal Election Commission shall submit a report to the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives that includes an assessment of compliance with and enforcement of the AI disclaimer requirement and recommendations for any modifications.
This section requires the FEC to submit a report to the relevant Senate and House committees within two years of enactment and biannually thereafter, assessing compliance with and enforcement of the new AI disclaimer requirement and recommending any modifications. It is a reporting obligation on the FEC, not on regulated parties, and imposes no compliance duty on advertisers.