Record STMT-WFDA1B3Legally binding

Assembly Bill No. 2355

Legislation State lawNorthern America · USadopted

Assembly Bill No. 2355 amends the Political Reform Act of 1974 in California to require committees that create, originally publish, or originally distribute a qualified political advertisement containing AI-generated or substantially altered media to include a specific disclosure. The bill prescribes detailed formatting and display requirements for radio, television, print, and electronic media advertisements. Furthermore, the Fair Political Practices Commission is authorized to enforce compliance through administrative remedies or injunctive relief without classifying violations as misdemeanors.

Summary and content fields are drawn from the document text and are pending editorial review.

Who issued it

California State LegislatureLegislature · US

Lead issuer

Office of the Governor of CaliforniaGovernment (executive) · US

Endorser

Legal forceLegally binding

Under whose authorityState law

Judged fromfull text

Who it governs

General publicRegulatorsCompaniesAI developers and providers

Campaign committees, political advertisers, and regulators must read this to ensure compliance with California's political advertisement transparency mandates regarding artificial intelligence.

Sectors

Cross-sector

What the document contains

What's covered

The document addresses the mandatory disclosure requirements for political advertisements that incorporate artificial intelligence, specifying exact phrasing, formatting rules across different media channels, definitions of AI-altered media, and enforcement mechanisms.

What's missing

The text lacks technical testing standards, pre-deployment bias evaluations, or restrictions on the underlying content of political ads beyond transparency disclosures.

Key takeaways

Qualified political advertisements containing AI-generated or substantially altered media must display or state a clear disclosure indicating the use of artificial intelligence.
Specific formatting rules are established for different advertising mediums including radio, television, print, and electronic media.
Artificial intelligence is defined as an engineered or machine-based system that can infer how to generate outputs influencing physical or virtual environments.
Immaterial alterations such as cosmetic adjustments, color edits, or resizing do not trigger the artificial intelligence disclosure requirement.
The Fair Political Practices Commission is granted enforcement powers through injunctive relief or administrative and civil remedies, while ensuring violations are not deemed misdemeanors.

Outline

· SECTION 1. Section 84504 of the Government Code is amended (Radio and telephonic disclosures)
· SEC. 2. Section 84504.1 of the Government Code is amended (Video and television disclosures)
· SEC. 3. Section 84504.2 of the Government Code is amended (Print advertisement disclosures)
· SEC. 4. Section 84504.2 of the Government Code is alternatively amended
· SEC. 5. Section 84504.3 of the Government Code is amended (Electronic media advertisements)
· SEC. 6. Section 84504.4 of the Government Code is amended (Political party and candidate committee disclosures)
· SEC. 7. Section 84504.5 of the Government Code is amended (Independent expenditures and ballot measures)
· SEC. 8. Section 84514 is added to the Government Code (AI disclosure requirements, definitions, and enforcement)
· SEC. 9. Legislative findings regarding the Political Reform Act of 1974

Issued17 September 2024

Length4,633 words

FormatNot recorded

Scopesubnational

How it scores

Pending review

Each score is backed by a quote verified against the document text. Editorial review has not yet confirmed them.

Accountability

4/5

Clear responsibility for AI outcomes

If a committee, as defined in Section 82013, creates, originally publishes, or originally distributes a qualified political advertisement, the qualified political advertisement shall include, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the following disclosure

Section 8

screening score · 2026-10-24

Fairness

0/5

Non-discrimination and equitable treatment

screening score · 2026-10-24

Human Dignity

0/5

Respect for the inherent worth of persons

screening score · 2026-10-24

Human Oversight

0/5

Humans remain in control of consequential decisions

screening score · 2026-10-24

Privacy

0/5

Protection of personal data and private life

screening score · 2026-10-24

Transparency

4/5

Openness about how AI systems work and are used

Ad generated or substantially altered using artificial intelligence.

Section 8

screening score · 2026-10-24

Enforcement

4/5

Consequences and compliance mechanisms with real force

the Commission may take either of the following actions: (A) Seek injunctive relief to compel compliance pursuant to Section 90009. (B) Pursue any administrative or civil remedies available

Section 8

screening score · 2026-10-24

Impact Assessment

0/5

Required assessment of an AI system's risks/impacts before or during use

screening score · 2026-10-24

Topics

political_advertisements artificial_intelligence transparency_disclosures elections synthetic_media