Opposition continues to grow against a proposal to require political ads on radio and television to feature disclosures if artificial intelligence is used in their creation. Several high-ranking Senate Republicans are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to immediately abandon the idea, calling it an unlawful proposal that infringes on free political speech.
“The FCC’s role should remain within the confines of its designated responsibility — ensuring basic record-keeping requirements without encroaching on the content of political discourse or favoring one type of political advertising over another,” the Senators write.
The group says it is also “unreasonable” to expect broadcasters to have the necessary tools or technical expertise to verify whether any of the images or sounds in a political ad have been generated with AI. “Requiring broadcasters to act as gatekeepers for AI-generated content would impose an unreasonable burden on them and could result in substantial legal and operational challenges,” they write.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel last month circulated a proposal with her colleagues that, if adopted, would look into whether the agency should require disclosure when there’s AI-generated content in radio and TV political ads. Her outline did not propose any prohibition of AI-generated content — only the disclosure of any AI-generated content within political ads. It would do that by potentially requiring an on-air and written disclosure in a station’s political file when there is AI-generated content in political ads.
The head of the Federal Election Commission last week came out against the proposal, saying it would “invade the FEC’s jurisdiction” if adopted. Sean Cooksey said if the FCC goes forward with its rulemaking, it would “sow chaos” among political campaigns for the upcoming election.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has also been critical of the idea. Among his concerns is that because the disclosures would only be featured on broadcast radio and television ads, and not digital ads, it might wrongfully imply to voters that AI was not being used in online ads.
That concern is also raised by the Republican Senators, who say the FCC would create an “uneven application” of the rules that does not reflect how consumers interact with media and could create misleading impressions about the content they consume.
But a bigger issue would be their insistence the FCC does not have the authority to issue such a requirement, especially over political ads. Lawmakers say the FEC is the sole authority empowered to regulate political disclaimers.
The group, which includes Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Ted Cruz (R-TX), also think politics are at play since the FCC proposal aligns closely with the broader agenda advocated by the Democrat National Committee. The DNC urged the FEC to introduce sweeping regulations governing AI-generated political speech before the 2024 elections.
“It is unfortunate that the FCC is behaving less like an independent commission accountable to Congress, and more as a de facto arm of the Biden campaign,” they said in their letter.
Rosenworcel last week defended her proposal. “This is simple: it is about disclosure,” she said. “In fact, since the 1930s, the FCC has required campaign advertising disclosures from our nation’s radio and television stations.” She told reporters she sees the AI disclosures as similar to the requirement that stations keep a political file, and that the political file include information about who bought campaign ads, how much they paid for those ads, and when the commercials ran.
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