H664: AI Deep Fakes in Elections

Monday, 3/25/24:

Sen. James Ruchti carried H664 on the Senate side, where it passed easily. The governor has signed it into law.

Thursday, 3/7/24:

This bill has gone through several revisions, and finally reached the floor in the form of House Bill 664. Rep. Rubel presented the bill this afternoon and it passed 61-8-1.

Friday, 2/16/24:

The new RS has been printed as House Bill 565.

Wednesday, 2/14/24:

Rep. Rubel introduced RS 31324 in House State Affairs this morning. The new version of the bill removes references to AI generated images, leaving just video and audio. The committee agreed to introduce the RS, so it will be printed and given a full hearing soon.

Monday, 2/5/24:

House Majority Leader Megan Blanksma informed the chamber that this bill needed to go back to State Affairs, as there was a replacement coming.

Friday, 1/26/24:

After a long debate yesterday morning in House State Affairs, H407 was immediately replaced with RS 31033. This new text made one minor change regarding the font size of the required disclaimer, and the committee voted to immediately print it and send it to the House with no recommendation. It has been printed as H426 and awaits a vote on the floor.

Rep. Bruce Skaug has signed on as a cosponsor and helped present the bill on Thursday morning. Many of the questions from the committee were concerned that the bill did not go far enough to prevent non-candidates from being lampooned in the same manner as candidates.

Monday, 1/22/24:

H407 has been rated -2 by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.

Thursday, 1/18/24:

The F.A.I.R. Elections Act has been printed as House Bill 407. The “F.A.I.R.” stands for “Freedom from AI-Rigged”.

Wednesday, 1/17/24:

Rep. Ilana Rubel introduced RS 30933 in the House Judiciary & Rules Committee Wednesday afternoon. Calling it the “F.A.I.R Elections Act”, Rubel said that this was in response to the rise of AI and deep fake technology and the danger it poses to free elections.

Rubel said that the bill would create a civil action for candidates who are victims of deep fakes, whether video, image, or audio. She added that there would be an affirmative defense for content creators who clearly identified their production as AI-created.