Florida's Artificial Intelligence Crackdown Passes the House Floor

TALLAHASSEE, FL—In an age of increasing artificial intelligence, the Florida House has passed a bill requiring a disclaimer for AI use in political advertisements, imposing a first-degree misdemeanor for those in violation.

Proposed by Republican Rep. Alex Rizo, HB 919 requires a disclaimer on any political ad or digital content utilizing AI, to increase transparency and decrease misinformation in elections processes. In addition to civil penalties, a person who creates a partially AI-generated ad without a disclaimer would be subject to a first-degree misdemeanor.

AI is a rapidly advancing technology that can create images, videos, or audio of a real person, and has often been used without the person's consent. Rep. Rizo referenced an incident from last month, in which an AI-generated robocall impersonating President Biden told New Hampshire residents not to vote in the Democratic Primary.

"It was President Biden telling people to stay at home and don't go vote: and a number of people did," Rizo said on the House Floor Wednesday, stating the dangers of unregulated AI use in the political realm.

"I do think that we need to continue to work on protections when it comes to AI, especially in the political realm," Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said on the Floor. Rizo agreed, explaining that his bill was likely just the first step in regulating and restricting the growing technology.

"I'm sure that this is not the last of these bills," he said.

Artificial Intelligence hasn't just been used to politically mislead voters, but also to target and sexualize several high-profile politicians, singers, and actresses, including Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Taylor Swift, among others.

HB 919 passed the Floor in a 104-8 vote, with a small percentage of Democrats voting against the bill's punitive measures. Its Senate companion has passed through all of its Committee hearings but has yet to see the Senate Floor.