Texas Republican State Representative Dade Phelan, who previously served as Texas House Speaker, filed a bill that would criminalize the distribution of altered media and political memes.
The legislation from Phelan would impose misdemeanor penalties for publishing, distributing, or broadcasting “political advertising that includes an image, audio recording, or video recording of an officeholder’s or candidate’s appearance, speech, or conduct that did not occur in reality.”
The statute would include materials “altered using generative artificial intelligence technology” unless the advertisement has a disclosure indicating that the conduct did not actually happen.
