Senate Must Immediately Pass Sen. Klobuchar’s AI and Elections Bills To Protect Democracy

July 31, 2024

Senate Must Immediately Pass Sen. Klobuchar's AI and Elections Bills To Protect Democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Senate will vote on bipartisan AI and elections bills to protect federal elections from the growing threat of deceptive AI-generated content and misinformation.

Richard Anthony, emerging technologies policy advocate at Public Citizen, issued the following statement urging the Senate to pass the legislation:

"The integrity of our elections is paramount to the health of our democracy. We commend Senator Klobuchar for her leadership on addressing the urgent threat that deepfakes pose to our democracy and urge the Senate to act swiftly to pass these bills, which provide essential safeguards against the dangers posed by election-related AI-generated deepfakes and mis/disinformation."

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, added:

"Regulations for AI-generated deepfakes are currently nonexistent at the federal level. As November rapidly approaches, the need for essential safeguards against election-related deepfakes and mis/disinformation only grows more urgent. We have already seen deceptive deepfakes targeting Vice President Harris and former President Trump. Without clear regulations, deepfakes could distort election results, enable candidates to deny the legitimacy of authentic content, sow confusion and doubt, and widen partisan divides.

"Public Citizen calls on the Senate to pass these vital protections today so that they are in place for future federal elections. Our democracy depends on it."