HB 811 — An Act providing for civil liability for fraudulent misrepresentation of candidates; and imposing penalties.

PRINTER'S NO.   841

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                       HOUSE BILL
                       No. 811
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY KHAN, SHAFFER, GREEN, MERSKI, PIELLI, HILL-EVANS,
        DONAHUE, FREEMAN, PROBST, FLEMING, CIRESI, KINKEAD, OTTEN,
        KENYATTA, CERRATO, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SANCHEZ, HARKINS,
        BOROWSKI, D. WILLIAMS, HOHENSTEIN, SHUSTERMAN, STEELE,
        WEBSTER, WARREN, DALEY, O'MARA AND INGLIS, MARCH 5, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY,
        MARCH 5, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Providing for civil liability for fraudulent misrepresentation
 2      of candidates; and imposing penalties.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5   Section 1.   Short title.
 6      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fraudulent
 7   Misrepresentation of a Candidate Prevention Act.
 8   Section 2.   Definitions.
 9      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11   context clearly indicates otherwise:
12      "Artificial intelligence."    As follows:
13          (1)   A machine-based system that can, for a given set of
14      human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations
15      or decisions influencing real or virtual environments,
16      including the ability to:
 1                (i)    perceive real and virtual environments;
 2                (ii)    abstract perceptions made under subparagraph
 3          (i) into models through analysis in an automated manner;
 4          and
 5                (iii)    use model inference to formulate options for
 6          information or action based on outcomes under
 7          subparagraphs (i) and (ii).
 8          (2)   The term includes generative artificial
 9      intelligence.
10      "Campaign advertisement."      A public advertisement for the
11   purposes of influencing public opinion with respect to
12   legislative, administrative or electoral matters utilizing a
13   medium that includes mailings, emails, telephone calls, radio,
14   television, billboards, yard signs or other electronic media.
15      "Candidate."      As defined in section 102(a) of the
16   Pennsylvania Election Code, including a candidate for President
17   of the United States. The term includes a current or former
18   candidate.
19      "Covered person."      Any of the following:
20          (1)   A candidate.
21          (2)   A firm, partnership, corporation, limited liability
22      company, association, organization or similar entity.
23          (3)   A political committee, including a political action
24      committee, a political party or a political body.
25          (4)   A political action committee that only receives
26      contributions to make independent expenditures.
27          (5)   A foreign government, including any agency or
28      instrumentality thereof.
29          (6)   An employee, contractor or individual acting at the
30      behest of an entity specified under paragraph (1), (2), (3),

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 1      (4) or (5) or an officer, director, employee, owner,
 2      shareholder or contractor thereof.
 3      "Disseminate."   To produce, publish, distribute, broadcast,
 4   publicize, display, transmit or otherwise publicly share.
 5      "Election."   As defined in section 102(f) of the Pennsylvania
 6   Election Code.
 7      "Generative artificial intelligence."       The class of models
 8   that emulate the structure and characteristics of input data in
 9   order to generate derived synthetic content.
10      "Pennsylvania Election Code."       The act of June 3, 1937
11   (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code.
12      "Public office."   As defined in section 102(s) of the
13   Pennsylvania Election Code.
14      "Synthetic content."    Information such as images, videos,
15   audio clips and text that have been significantly modified or
16   generated by algorithms, including artificial intelligence.
17   Section 3.   Civil liability for fraudulent misrepresentation of
18                candidates.
19      (a)   Liability.--A covered person shall be liable for
20   fraudulent misrepresentation of a candidate if, within 90 days
21   before an election and with willful or reckless disregard for
22   the possibility of influencing the outcome of an election, the
23   covered person disseminates or causes to be disseminated a
24   campaign advertisement that contains an artificially generated
25   impersonation of a candidate for public office with the intent
26   to misrepresent the words, actions or beliefs of the candidate.
27      (b)   Clear and conspicuous disclosure.--A covered person
28   shall not be liable for a fraudulent misrepresentation under
29   subsection (a) if the campaign advertisement contains a clear
30   and conspicuous disclosure. The disclosure under this subsection

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 1   must:
 2            (1)   State that the campaign advertisement contains
 3      synthetic content of a candidate for public office. The
 4      disclosure shall be in substantially the following form:
 5                  This (text/image/video/sound) has been manipulated or
 6                  generated using synthetic content.
 7            (2)   Be displayed in the first instance when the campaign
 8      advertisement is presented.
 9            (3)   Be presented in a manner reasonably understandable
10      and readily noticeable. The following shall apply:
11                  (i)    For content presented in static images, the
12            disclosure shall be in written form, in a size and font
13            that is easily readable by the average viewer, accessible
14            screen readers and other technology to assist visually
15            impaired users.
16                  (ii)    For content presented in video formats, the
17            disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video in
18            a format that is easily readable by the average viewer.
19            The disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner
20            and in a pitch and at a speed that can be easily heard by
21            the average listener at the beginning and end of the
22            video.
23                  (iii)    For content that consists of only audio, the
24            disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and
25            in a pitch and at a speed that can be easily heard by the
26            average listener at the beginning and end of the audio,
27            and, if the audio is more than two minutes in length,
28            interspersed within the audio at intervals of not more
29            than two minutes each.
30      (c)   Relief.--A candidate for public office aggrieved by a

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 1   covered person under subsection (a) may bring a civil action
 2   against the covered person in a court of competent jurisdiction
 3   and shall be entitled to recover punitive damages, reasonable
 4   attorney fees and other reasonably related litigation costs
 5   incurred relating to the civil action. Upon a showing of cause
 6   for the issuance of injunctive relief, a court may issue a
 7   temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction or permanent
 8   injunction as the court deems appropriate. During any period
 9   that a civil action under this subsection is pending, a court
10   may order the immediate removal of the campaign advertisement
11   and cessation of the activity forming the basis of the
12   complaint.
13      (d)   Civil penalties.--
14            (1)   In addition to any other judgment or relief awarded
15      under subsection (c) to an aggrieved candidate for public
16      office, a court may, for each campaign advertisement
17      containing unique synthetic content, impose a civil penalty
18      on the covered person for each day the fraudulent
19      misrepresentation is disseminated in an amount up to:
20                  (i)    $15,000 when the campaign advertisement contains
21            unique synthetic content of a candidate for a municipal
22            public office in this Commonwealth for which the
23            candidate files with the county board of elections under
24            section 913 of the Pennsylvania Election Code.
25                  (ii)    Except as provided in subparagraph (iii),
26            $50,000 when the campaign advertisement contains unique
27            synthetic content of a candidate for a State public
28            office in this Commonwealth for which the candidate files
29            with the Secretary of the Commonwealth under section 913
30            of the Pennsylvania Election Code.

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 1                  (iii)   $250,000 when the campaign advertisement
 2            contains unique synthetic content of a candidate for
 3            President of the United States, presidential elector, the
 4            United States Senate or the United States House of
 5            Representatives.
 6            (2)   For a covered person that is a political action
 7      committee that only receives contributions to make
 8      independent expenditures, the court may impose twice the
 9      amounts specified under paragraph (1) on the covered person.
10      (e)   Frivolous actions.--If a court determines that a civil
11   action brought under this section is frivolous, the court shall
12   issue an order suspending the covered person's obligation to
13   respond to the civil action and shall order the candidate to
14   show cause why the civil action should not be dismissed. If the
15   candidate fails to respond to the court or the candidate's
16   response to the court confirms that the civil action is
17   frivolous, the court shall dismiss the civil action and may
18   award reasonable attorney fees and other reasonably related
19   litigation costs incurred relating to the civil action to the
20   covered person and may impose appropriate sanctions against the
21   candidate and the candidate's attorney.
22      (f)   Defense.--It shall be a defense to a civil action
23   brought under this section that the covered person disseminated
24   the campaign advertisement containing synthetic content with the
25   consent of the candidate if the covered person who disseminated
26   the campaign advertisement can establish that the candidate has
27   given the candidate's express, written consent.
28      (g)   Location.--A covered person may be found liable in a
29   civil action brought under this section if the covered person or
30   candidate is located within this Commonwealth.

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 1         (h)   Applicability.--Nothing in this section shall be
 2   construed to apply to any of the following:
 3               (1)   A law enforcement officer engaged in the performance
 4         of the law enforcement officer's official duties.
 5               (2)   A streaming service, radio or television
 6         broadcaster, including a cable or satellite television
 7         operator, programmer or producer that disseminates a campaign
 8         advertisement provided by another person.
 9               (3)   A newspaper, magazine or other periodical of general
10         circulation, including an Internet or electronic publication,
11         which routinely carries news and commentary of general
12         interest and that disseminates a campaign advertisement
13         provided by another person.
14               (4)   An entity under paragraph (2) or (3) when the entity
15         is paid to disseminate a campaign advertisement with the
16         consent of the candidate as specified under subsection (f).
17               (5)   An interactive computer service, as defined in 47
18         U.S.C. § 230 (relating to protection for private blocking and
19         screening of offensive material).
20               (6)   An Internet service provider, cloud provider,
21         cybersecurity provider, communication service provider or
22         telecommunications network.
23               (7)   Content that constitutes satire or parody which is
24         substantially dependent on the ability of an individual to
25         impersonate a candidate physically or verbally and not upon
26         generative artificial intelligence.
27         (i)   Construction.--Nothing in this act shall be construed
28   to:
29               (1)   restrict the ability of a covered person to detect,
30         prevent, respond to or protect against security incidents,

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1      identity theft, fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive
2      activities or any illegal activity, preserve the integrity or
3      security of systems or investigate, report or prosecute those
4      responsible for any such action; or
5          (2)   limit or preclude a candidate from securing or
6      recovering any other available remedies at law or in equity.
7   Section 4.   Effective date.
8      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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