FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 8, 2023

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: brian.phillips@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), senior member of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, released the below statement following Meta’s announcement that the company will soon require advertisers to disclose when artificial intelligence is used to create or alter imagery or audio in political ads. Meta’s announcement follows an October 5 letter that Congresswoman Clarke and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sent to the CEOs of Meta Platforms, Inc. and X Corp seeking information on how their organizations are addressing AI-generated content in political ads hosted on their social media platforms.

“Misinformation and disinformation continue to pose a serious threat to our democracy and national security. This decision by Meta is a step in the right direction, but we cannot solely rely on good will. As the 2024 election quickly approaches, it’s imperative that Congress establishes safeguards to not only protect our democracy but also curb the tide of deceptive AI-generated content that can potentially deceive the American people. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass commonsense disclosure laws for AI-generated content in political ads and establish clear standards for identifying deepfakes and other forms of synthetic content.”

Meta’s announcement follows Google’s announcement in September that it will require disclosures on AI-generated content in political ads.

In Congress, Rep. Clarke has led efforts to address the threat of misinformation and disinformation, deceptive AI-generated content, and establishing disclosure requirements for AI-generated content in political ads.

In October, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) and Senator Klobuchar sent a letter to the CEOs of Meta Platforms, Inc. and X Corp., Mark Zuckerberg and Linda Yaccarino, respectively, seeking information on how their organizations are addressing AI-generated content in political ads hosted on their social media platforms.

In September, Rep. Clarke and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) introduced the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act to require creators to digitally watermark deepfake content. This legislation would also make it a crime to fail to identify malicious deepfakes, including deepfakes depicting sexual content, related to criminal conduct, used to incite violence, and related to foreign interference in an election.

In May, Rep. Clarke introduced the REAL Political Ads Act, which would require a disclaimer on political ads that use images or video generated by artificial intelligence. Companion legislation is led in the U.S. Senate by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

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