Bill Text: IL SB0150 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Election Code. Provides that, if a person, committee, or other entity creates, originally publishes, or originally distributes a qualified political advertisement, the qualified political advertisement shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement that the qualified political advertisement was generated in whole or substantially by artificial intelligence that satisfies specified requirements. Provides for civil penalties and exceptions to the provision.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-17 - Referred to Assignments [SB0150 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2025-SB0150-Introduced.html
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| 1 | AN ACT concerning elections.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Election Code is amended by adding Section | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 9-9.6 as follows:
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| 6 | (10 ILCS 5/9-9.6 new) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Sec. 9-9.6. Disclosure of political communications | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | generated by artificial intelligence. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | (a) As used in this Section: | |||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | "Artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system | |||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or | |||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | virtual environments, and that uses machine and human-based | |||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | inputs to do all of the following: | |||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | (1) perceive real and virtual environments; | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | (2) abstract such perceptions into models through | |||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | analysis in an automated manner; and | |||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | (3) use model inference to formulate options for | |||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | information or action. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | "Distribution platform" includes, but is not limited to, a | |||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | website or a regularly published newspaper, magazine, or other | |||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | periodical of general circulation, including an Internet | |||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | publication or electronic publication, that routinely carries | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | news and commentary of general interest. | ||||||
| 2 | "Qualified political advertisement" means any paid | ||||||
| 3 | advertisement, including, but not limited to, search engine | ||||||
| 4 | marketing, display advertisements, video advertisements, | ||||||
| 5 | native advertisements, issue advertisements, messaging service | ||||||
| 6 | advertisements, mobile application advertisements, and | ||||||
| 7 | sponsorships, relating to a candidate for federal, State, or | ||||||
| 8 | local office in this State, any election to federal, State, or | ||||||
| 9 | local office in this State, or a ballot question that contains | ||||||
| 10 | any image, audio, or video that is generated in whole or | ||||||
| 11 | substantially with the use of artificial intelligence. | ||||||
| 12 | (b) If a person, committee, or other entity creates, | ||||||
| 13 | originally publishes, or originally distributes a qualified | ||||||
| 14 | political advertisement, the qualified political advertisement | ||||||
| 15 | shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, a statement | ||||||
| 16 | that the qualified political advertisement was generated in | ||||||
| 17 | whole or substantially by artificial intelligence as follows: | ||||||
| 18 | (1) if the qualified political advertisement is a | ||||||
| 19 | graphic communication, the statement shall appear in | ||||||
| 20 | letters at least as large as the majority of the text in | ||||||
| 21 | the graphic communication and be in the same language as | ||||||
| 22 | the language used in the graphic communication; | ||||||
| 23 | (2) if the qualified political advertisement is an | ||||||
| 24 | audio communication, the statement shall be spoken in a | ||||||
| 25 | clearly audible and intelligible manner at the beginning | ||||||
| 26 | or end of the communication, last at least 3 seconds, and | ||||||
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| 1 | be in the same language as the language used in the audio | ||||||
| 2 | communication; and | ||||||
| 3 | (3) if the qualified political advertisement is a | ||||||
| 4 | video communication that also includes audio, that | ||||||
| 5 | statement shall: | ||||||
| 6 | (A) appear for at least 4 seconds in letters at | ||||||
| 7 | least as large as the majority of any text | ||||||
| 8 | communication, or if there is no other text | ||||||
| 9 | communication, in a size that is easily readable by | ||||||
| 10 | the average viewer; | ||||||
| 11 | (B) be spoken in a clearly audible and | ||||||
| 12 | intelligible manner at the beginning or end of the | ||||||
| 13 | communication and last at least 3 seconds; and | ||||||
| 14 | (C) be in the same language as the language used in | ||||||
| 15 | the video communication; and | ||||||
| 16 | (c) A person who violates subsection (b) is subject to the | ||||||
| 17 | following: | ||||||
| 18 | (1) for a first violation, the Board may impose on the | ||||||
| 19 | person a civil penalty of not more than $250; and | ||||||
| 20 | (2) for a second or subsequent violation, the Board | ||||||
| 21 | may impose on the person a civil penalty of not more than | ||||||
| 22 | $1,000 for each violation. | ||||||
| 23 | Each qualified political advertisement that is distributed | ||||||
| 24 | or aired to the public that violates this Section is a separate | ||||||
| 25 | violation. | ||||||
| 26 | (d) This Section does not apply to any of the following: | ||||||
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| 1 | (1) a radio or television broadcasting station, | ||||||
| 2 | including a cable or satellite television operator, | ||||||
| 3 | programmer, or producer that broadcasts a qualified | ||||||
| 4 | political advertisement or a communication generated in | ||||||
| 5 | whole or substantially by artificial intelligence as part | ||||||
| 6 | of a bona fide newscast, news interview, news documentary, | ||||||
| 7 | or on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news events, if the | ||||||
| 8 | broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a | ||||||
| 9 | disclosure, in a manner that can be easily heard or read by | ||||||
| 10 | the average listener or viewer, that the qualified | ||||||
| 11 | political advertisement or communication generated in | ||||||
| 12 | whole or substantially by artificial intelligence does not | ||||||
| 13 | accurately represent the speech or conduct of the depicted | ||||||
| 14 | individual; | ||||||
| 15 | (2) a radio or television broadcasting station, | ||||||
| 16 | including a cable or satellite television operator, | ||||||
| 17 | programmer, or producer, when the station is paid to | ||||||
| 18 | broadcast qualified political advertisements; | ||||||
| 19 | (3) a distribution platform that publishes qualified | ||||||
| 20 | political advertisements prohibited under this Section, if | ||||||
| 21 | the distribution platform has a clearly stated written | ||||||
| 22 | policy, provided to any person, committee, or other entity | ||||||
| 23 | that creates, seeks to publish, or originally distributes | ||||||
| 24 | a qualified political advertisement, that the qualified | ||||||
| 25 | political advertisement shall include a statement | ||||||
| 26 | consistent with subsection (b); | ||||||
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| 1 | (4) a qualified political advertisement that | ||||||
| 2 | constitutes satire or parody; and | ||||||
| 3 | (5) a business or its affiliate if the business or its | ||||||
| 4 | affiliate is regulated by the Federal Communications | ||||||
| 5 | Commission. | ||||||
| 6 | (e) A distribution platform is not liable under this | ||||||
| 7 | Section if the distribution platform can show that it provided | ||||||
| 8 | notice to the distributor of a qualified political | ||||||
| 9 | advertisement of the distribution platform's prohibitions | ||||||
| 10 | concerning the failure to disclose content created in whole or | ||||||
| 11 | substantially by artificial intelligence in a qualified | ||||||
| 12 | political advertisement or prerecorded telephone message. | ||||||