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.
This Act may be cited as the ''Require the Exposure of AI–Led Political Advertisements Act'' or the ''REAL Political Advertisements Act''.
Establishes the short title of the Act as the Require the Exposure of AI-Led Political Advertisements Act or the REAL Political Advertisements Act. No operative obligations are created.
(1)–(2) It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the revolutionary innovations in generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) and the potential for their use in exacerbating and spreading misinformation and disinformation at scale and with unprecedented speed requires Congress and the Federal Election Commission to take action to protect against the use of generative AI that harms our democracy; and (2) free and fair elections require transparency and accountability, which allow the public to make informed decisions and hold public officials accountable.
States the sense of Congress that generative AI innovations pose risks of exacerbating misinformation and disinformation at scale, and that free and fair elections require transparency and accountability. This section is non-binding and creates no compliance obligations.
(a)(1)(A) Subparagraph (A) of section 304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ''or satellite communication'' each place it appears in clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting ''satellite, or qualified internet or digital communicationQualified internet or digital communicationThe term 'qualified internet or digital communication' means any communication that is placed or promoted for a fee on an online platform.52 U.S.C. § 30104(f)(3)(D)''.
(a)(1)(B) Paragraph (3) of section 304(f) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ''(D) QUALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONQualified internet or digital communicationThe term 'qualified internet or digital communication' means any communication that is placed or promoted for a fee on an online platform.52 U.S.C. § 30104(f)(3)(D).—The term 'qualified internet or digital communicationQualified internet or digital communicationThe term 'qualified internet or digital communication' means any communication that is placed or promoted for a fee on an online platform.52 U.S.C. § 30104(f)(3)(D)' means any communication that is placed or promoted for a fee on an online platformOnline platformThe term 'online platform' means any public-facing website, web application, or digital application (including a social network, ad network, or search engine) that— (i)(I) sells qualified political advertisements; and (II) has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months; or (ii) is a third-party advertising vendor that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors in the aggregate on any advertisement space that it has sold or bought for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months, as measured by an independent digital ratings service accredited by the Media Ratings Council (or its successor).52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(A).''.
(a)(1)(C) Section 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by striking ''a communication'' and inserting ''any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication''.
(a)(2) Section 304(f)(3)(B)(i) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows: ''(i) a communication appearing in a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station or any online or digital newspaper, magazine, publication, periodical, blog, or platform, unless such broadcasting, online, or digital facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate;''.
(b) Section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101) is amended by adding at the end the following: ''(27) ONLINE PLATFORMOnline platformThe term 'online platform' means any public-facing website, web application, or digital application (including a social network, ad network, or search engine) that— (i)(I) sells qualified political advertisements; and (II) has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months; or (ii) is a third-party advertising vendor that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors in the aggregate on any advertisement space that it has sold or bought for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months, as measured by an independent digital ratings service accredited by the Media Ratings Council (or its successor).52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(A).— ''(A) IN GENERAL.—The term 'online platformOnline platformThe term 'online platform' means any public-facing website, web application, or digital application (including a social network, ad network, or search engine) that— (i)(I) sells qualified political advertisements; and (II) has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months; or (ii) is a third-party advertising vendor that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors in the aggregate on any advertisement space that it has sold or bought for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months, as measured by an independent digital ratings service accredited by the Media Ratings Council (or its successor).52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(A)' means any public-facing website, web application, or digital application (including a social network, ad network, or search engine) that— ''(i)(I) sells qualified political advertisementsQualified political advertisementFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'qualified political advertisement' means any advertisement (including search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements, and sponsorships) that— (i) is made by or on behalf of a candidate; or (ii) communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance, including— (I) a candidate; (II) any election to Federal office; or (III) a national legislative issue of public importance.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(B); and ''(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months; or ''(ii) is a third-party advertising vendorThird-party advertising vendorFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'third-party advertising vendor' includes any third-party advertising vendor network, advertising agency, advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving company that buys and sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search engines, digital applications, or social media sites.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(C) that has 50,000,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors in the aggregate on any advertisement space that it has sold or bought for a majority of months during the preceding 12 months, as measured by an independent digital ratings service accredited by the Media Ratings Council (or its successor). ''(B) QUALIFIED POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTQualified political advertisementFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'qualified political advertisement' means any advertisement (including search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements, and sponsorships) that— (i) is made by or on behalf of a candidate; or (ii) communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance, including— (I) a candidate; (II) any election to Federal office; or (III) a national legislative issue of public importance.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(B).—For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'qualified political advertisementQualified political advertisementFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'qualified political advertisement' means any advertisement (including search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements, and sponsorships) that— (i) is made by or on behalf of a candidate; or (ii) communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance, including— (I) a candidate; (II) any election to Federal office; or (III) a national legislative issue of public importance.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(B)' means any advertisement (including search engine marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, native advertisements, and sponsorships) that— ''(i) is made by or on behalf of a candidate; or ''(ii) communicates a message relating to any political matter of national importance, including— ''(I) a candidate; ''(II) any election to Federal office; or ''(III) a national legislative issue of public importance. ''(C) THIRD-PARTY ADVERTISING VENDORThird-party advertising vendorFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'third-party advertising vendor' includes any third-party advertising vendor network, advertising agency, advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving company that buys and sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search engines, digital applications, or social media sites.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(C) DEFINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'third-party advertising vendorThird-party advertising vendorFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'third-party advertising vendor' includes any third-party advertising vendor network, advertising agency, advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving company that buys and sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search engines, digital applications, or social media sites.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(C)' includes any third-party advertising vendorThird-party advertising vendorFor purposes of this paragraph, the term 'third-party advertising vendor' includes any third-party advertising vendor network, advertising agency, advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving company that buys and sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search engines, digital applications, or social media sites.52 U.S.C. § 30101(27)(C) network, advertising agency, advertiser, or third-party advertisement serving company that buys and sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffiliated third-party websites, search engines, digital applications, or social media sites.''.
(c) The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to any communication made on or after January 1, 2024, and shall take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such amendments.
This section expands the Federal Election Campaign Act's definition of electioneering communication to include qualified internet or digital communications — any communication placed or promoted for a fee on an online platform. It defines online platform to cover public-facing websites, web applications, and digital applications (including social networks, ad networks, and search engines) that either sell qualified political advertisements and have at least 50 million unique monthly U.S. visitors, or are third-party advertising vendors meeting the same traffic threshold.
The section also updates the news exemption to cover online and digital news outlets alongside traditional broadcast media, and narrows the relevant-electorate geographic restriction so that it applies only to broadcast, cable, or satellite communications — not to online communications, which are inherently national in reach. The amendments apply to communications made on or after January 1, 2024, regardless of whether the FEC has promulgated implementing regulations.
(a) — (e)(1) 1 Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: ''(e) SPECIAL DISCLAIMER FOR COMMUNICATIONS CONTAINING CONTENT GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.— ''(1) REQUIREMENT.—If a communication described in subsection (a) contains an image or video footage that was generated in whole or in part with the use of artificial intelligence (generative AI), the communication shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement that the communication contains such an image or footage.
(a) — (e)(2)(A)–(D) 1 ''(2) 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 following requirements: ''(A) TEXT OR GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of a text or graphic communication, the statement— ''(i) appears in letters at least as large as the majority of the text in the communication; and ''(ii) meets the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c). ''(B) AUDIO COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of an audio communication, the statement is spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the communication and lasts at least 3 seconds. ''(C) VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of a video communication that also includes audio, the statement— ''(i) is included at either the beginning or the end of the communication; and ''(ii) is made both in— ''(I) a written format that meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) and appears for at least 4 seconds; and ''(II) an audible format that meets the requirements of subparagraph (B). ''(D) OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.—In the case of any other type of communication, the statement is at least as clear and conspicuous as the statement specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).
(a) — (e)(3) 2 ''(3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of the Require the Exposure of AI–Led Political Advertisements Act, the Commission shall promulgate a regulation to carry out this subsection, including— ''(A) criteria for determining whether an advertisement contains an image or video footage created through generative artificial intelligence; ''(B) requirements for the contents of the statement required under paragraph (1); and ''(C) a definition of content generated by artificial intelligence that considers current and future uses of artificial intelligence and similar technologies that have a high risk for use in creating and spreading misinformation or disinformation about candidates, elections, and issues of national concern.''.
(b) The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to any communication described in section 318(a) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) made on or after January 1, 2024, and shall take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out such amendments.
This is the bill's core operative section. It adds a new subsection (e) to Section 318 of the Federal Election Campaign Act (52 U.S.C. § 30120) requiring that any political communication covered under Section 318(a) that contains an image or video footage generated in whole or in part using generative AI must include a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing that fact. The disclosure obligation runs to whoever makes or is responsible for the communication — candidates, committees, and other persons who produce or authorize covered political advertisements.
The section establishes a detailed safe harbor specifying what constitutes a clear and conspicuous disclaimer across different media formats: text/graphic communications must use lettering at least as large as the majority text; audio communications must include a spoken statement of at least 3 seconds; video communications must include both a written statement appearing for at least 4 seconds and an audible statement of at least 3 seconds. The FEC is directed to promulgate implementing regulations within 120 days of enactment, including criteria for identifying AI-generated content, content requirements for the disclaimer statement, and a forward-looking definition of generative AI. The amendments apply to communications made on or after January 1, 2024, regardless of FEC rulemaking status.
(1)–(3) 3 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Federal Election Commission shall submit a report to Congress that includes— (1) an assessment of the compliance with and the enforcement of the requirements of section 318(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as added by this Act; (2) recommendations for any modifications to such section to assist in carrying out its purposes; and (3) the identification of ways to bring further transparency and accountability to political advertisements.
Directs the FEC to submit biannual reports to Congress beginning two years after enactment. Reports must assess compliance with and enforcement of the new AI disclaimer requirement, recommend any modifications, and identify ways to bring further transparency and accountability to political advertisements. This is a congressional oversight mechanism rather than a compliance obligation on regulated entities.