Keywords
First Amendment; constitutional law; artificial intelligence; deepfakes; political campaigns; political advertisements; A.I.
Abstract
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has developed rapidly. Accompanying this advancement in sophistication and accessibility are various societal benefits and risks. For example, political campaigns and political action committees have begun to use AI in advertisements to generate deepfakes of opposing candidates to influence voters. Deepfakes of political candidates interfere with voters’ ability to discern falsity from reality and make informed decisions at the ballot box. As a result, these deepfakes pose a threat to the integrity of elections and the existence of democracy. Despite the dangers of deepfakes, regulating false political speech raises significant First Amendment questions.
This Note considers whether the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, a proposed federal ban of AI-generated deepfakes portraying federal candidates in political advertisements, is constitutional. This Note concludes that the bill is constitutional under the First Amendment and that less speech restrictive alternatives fail to address the risks of deepfakes. Finally, this Note suggests revisions to narrow the bill’s application and ensure its apolitical enforcement.
Recommended Citation
Sophie Loewenstein,
Make America Fake Again?: Banning Deepfakes of Federal Candidates in Political Advertisements Under the First Amendment,
93 Fordham L. Rev. 273
(2024).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol93/iss1/7