Provides relative to the use of artificial intelligence in political campaigns

HB 459 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1463 to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in creating images or likenesses of candidates in political materials. The bill prohibits any person from distributing or transmitting paid political announcements or advertisements containing an AI-generated image or likeness of a candidate unless the material includes a clear disclosure that it was created using artificial intelligence. The required disclosure must appear in the same manner as third-party entity disclosures already required under existing law, specifically in text sized at least as large as the smallest text in digital materials or in a visually distinct heading with reasonable color contrast. The bill also expands the definition of "digital material" to include communications placed or promoted for any payment, not just for a fee, and applies the existing definition of artificial intelligence from R.S. 14:73.14 to this new requirement.

The practical effect of this legislation impacts candidates, political committees, third-party entities, media buyers, and media platforms involved in campaign advertising. Any person or organization using AI-generated candidate imagery in paid political materials must now include the required disclosure or face criminal penalties. Media entities that broadcast political advertisements without input or control over content are exempt from these requirements. The legislation increases criminal penalties for violations of the political material disclosure requirements from a maximum fine of two thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars, with the punishment remaining imprisonment for up to two years, with or without hard labor, or both. This heightened penalty applies to violations of both the existing third-party entity disclosure requirement and the new AI disclosure requirement.

This statute operates within Louisiana's broader regulatory framework governing campaign finance and political advertising transparency found in Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. The legislation builds upon existing provisions requiring disclosure of who pays for political communications, extending that transparency principle to address concerns about technological deception in the electoral process. The bill incorporates the artificial intelligence definition already established in R.S. 14:73.14, which defines AI as an artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other context that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action. By requiring clear and conspicuous disclosure of AI-generated candidate imagery in the same manner as other legally mandated disclosures, the bill seeks to enhance voter protection and informed decision-making while maintaining consistency with existing electoral disclosure requirements.