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July 25 (UPI) -- The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it is moving forward with a proposal to make AI-generated political content more transparent. The proposal would require political advertisers to file information to the FCC indicating whether artificial intelligence is used in their TV or radio ads and to make on-air disclosures of AI use, according to an FCC statement.
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The proposed rule would not ban the use of AI in political ads, rather it would require transparency to ensure consumers are fully informed, the FCC said.
"Today the FCC takes a major step to guard against AI being used by bad actors to spread chaos and confusion in our elections. We propose that political advertisements that run on television and radio should disclose whether AI is being used," FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
"There's too much potential for AI to manipulate voices and images in political advertising to do nothing. If a candidate or issue campaign used AI to create an ad, the public has a right to know."
Rosenworcel noted two instances this year of AI being used to deceive voters. Thousands of New Hampshire voters in January received robocalls with an AI voice impersonating President Joe Biden urging them not to vote in the Democratic primary.
The robocalls were traced to a conservative nonprofit based in Texas.
Last summer, the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got flagged for circulating AI-generated images of Donald Trump hugging former White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Faucci.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in a dissenting statement called the proposal a "recipe for chaos."
"Even if this rulemaking were completed with unprecedented haste, any new regulations would likely take effect after early voting already started," he said. "Suddenly, Americans will see disclosures for 'AI-generated content' on some screens but not others, for some political ads but not others, with no context for why they see these disclosures or which part of the political advertisement contains AI."
Carr also argued Congress has not given the FCC authority over political ads, which are in the jurisdiction of the Federal Elections Commission.
The FEC is considering its own regulations for AI in online political ads, with the expectation to act on them this summer.
Rosenworcel, however, argued the FCC since 1930 has required broadcasters to maintain a public file for campaign ads containing information such as who bought the ad, how much they paid and when it ran, and Congress has since expanded those requirements to include ads that run on cable and satellite TV.
"While obfuscating may delay action in Washington, states across the country are not waiting," Rosenworcel said, noting nearly half of all states have enacted laws regulating the use of AI in elections.
The FCC began floating the AI disclosure rule in May. Rosenworcel at the time of the announcement said AI will likely "play a substantial role" in political ads for the general election in November and every election after that.
Rosenworcel in May raised concerns about AI being used to deceive voters with "deep fake" images, videos or audio recordings.
Facebook parent company Meta, meanwhile, has been implementing its own election guardrails on AI. The company in February said it worked with several European Union countries to root out AI-generated disinformation ahead of their upcoming parliamentary elections.
Meta last November began requiring advertisers to disclose the use of AI for political or social content that features photorealistic images, videos or realistic sounding audio.
