On Monday, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) announced the reintroduction of the AI Ads Act, a bill designed to prohibit the fraudulent use of artificial intelligence (AI) to misrepresent political candidates, campaigns and committees in federal elections.
Schiff, Khanna Reintroduce AI Ads Act to Target Election Deepfakes
In a post on X, Schiff warned that AI-generated political advertisements using a candidate’s voice or likeness to distort their positions threaten the integrity of elections.
“Fraudulent AI-generated political ads that use the voice or likeness of a candidate to misrepresent their position on issues pose a serious threat to our democracy that should concern Americans regardless of their political party,” Schiff wrote.
He added, “We cannot allow AI to further blur the line between fact and fiction in political campaigns — that’s why I’m fighting to pass my AI Ads Act.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) joined Schiff in reintroducing the legislation, which was first introduced during the 118th Congress.
What the AI Ads Act Would Do
According to a press release, the bill would expand existing federal prohibitions on fraudulent political misrepresentation to explicitly cover content generated in whole or in part by AI.
The legislation would also broaden restrictions on individuals falsely claiming to represent candidates, political committees or political organizations and eliminate the requirement that deceptive communications must be “damaging” to violate the law.
Khanna said AI has the potential to reshape society but should not be used to deceive voters.
“AI will transform our lives and our society in many ways, but it can’t be used to mislead voters or undermine our democracy,” Khanna said. “I’m proud to lead the AI Ads Act with Senator Schiff to ban AI-generated content that deceives the public about candidates or elections.”
The proposal has received backing from advocacy groups including Common Cause, Public Citizen, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Campaign Legal Center and Protect Democracy, which argue the measure would help safeguard federal elections from increasingly sophisticated AI-generated political deepfakes.
Mark Cuban, OpenAI Highlight AI Election Risks
Mark Cuban warned in January that the 2026 election could become the first “AI-driven election season,” saying algorithms may play an increasingly influential role in shaping public opinion.
In June, OpenAI said it had disrupted alleged Chinese influence operations that used ChatGPT to generate social media posts intended to sway U.S. conversations on tariffs, AI and data centers.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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