New Mexico
Deepfake disclosure bill passes NM House – Source New Mexico
A proposal to require public disclosure whenever a political campaign in the state uses false information generated by artificial intelligence in a campaign advertisement gained approval from the New Mexico House of Representatives on Monday night.
After about an hour of debate, the House voted 38-28 to pass House Bill 182, which would amend the state’s Campaign Reporting Act to require political campaigns to disclose whenever they use artificial intelligence in their ads, and would make it a crime to use artificially-generated ads to intentionally deceive voters.
The bill’s latest version passed by the House specifies the disclaimer’s exact wording that must be present when AI is used for any campaign material. That disclaimer must read, “This (image/video/audio) has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.”
To become law, HB 182 would still need to go through the committee process in the Senate, then a full Senate vote before the session adjourns at noon on Feb. 15. Then it would need to be signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The bill would not entirely prohibit using artificial intelligence in campaign ads, however.
Candidates running for office in New Mexico must disclose whenever they knowingly publish a deceptive ad within three months of an election with the intent of changing voters’ behavior. If they don’t, the proposal would make publishing the ad a misdemeanor and penalties would increase for additional violations.
HB 182 got the go-ahead from the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee on Jan. 31. Eight days later, the House Judiciary Committee amended the proposal to further narrow the crime it creates to exclude things like media coverage of fake ads.
The committee clarified platforms like a radio station, newspaper, Facebook or Google would not violate the law if they publish, post or distribute fake ads so long as they tell the ad’s creator about the disclaimer requirement. House Majority Floor Leader Gail Chasey (D-Albuquerque), the bill’s sponsor, said that change came after she spoke to representatives from Google about the bill.
“The distributor, if you will — whoever is putting this together professionally — just has to have a policy that reflects our law, letting its customers know that this is not allowed,” Chasey told the House. “If the individual doesn’t follow the policy that the platform has adopted, then it’s the individual who is liable if they don’t follow the law.”
It’s not up to the platform to police ads, Chasey said, but rather the person harmed by the ad must complain to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office, which would then either refer the issue to the state Ethics Commission or the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The Ethics Commission can also bring their own case against someone under the Campaign Reporting Act, she said.
The version amended out of the Judiciary Committee also requires the disclaimers be in the same language as the ad itself, such as Spanish or Diné, she said.
Rep. James Townsend (R-Artesia) asked if it would have been easier to simply eliminate the use of AI in campaign ads altogether but Chasey said no, because that would violate the First Amendment right to free speech.
“It just seems like we are setting up a very slippery slope for anyone who uses information that they may gather off of the web,” Townsend said. “It’s going to cause a lot of problems and most of the things that will be accused of being wrong, the election will be long gone and over, the damage will be done, before this is ever decided.”
If someone uses AI to depict someone doing something they didn’t actually do, what’s called a “deepfake,” then there must be a disclaimer, Chasey said.
“We’re not saying you can’t say it,” she said.
At least four other states including Michigan have passed similar legislation, Chasey said. Other states have tried to address deepfakes in different ways, she added.
Over half the states in the country are considering similar legislation, according to a bill tracker run by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group that supports Chasey’s bill.
NBA Christmas Day preview
From Thunder–Spurs to Wolves–Nuggets and Knicks–Cavs, which NBA Christmas Day matchup are you most looking forward to?
An NBA veteran made a Christmas Eve stop for something green at a Santa Teresa cannabis dispensary.
Markieff Morris of the Los Angeles Lakers visited Hi Life Dispensary in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on Christmas Eve while spending time with family in the El Paso area, according to budtender Edgar Omar Tovar, who goes by “Chino.”
Hi Life, located at 5620 McNutt Road, offers both medical and recreational cannabis under New Mexico’s legalization laws. Retail sales of adult-use cannabis began in April 2022.
Cannabis sales in New Mexico continue to climb. In November, dispensaries reported $45.9 million in revenue from 814,229 transactions, with adult-use purchases totaling $35.8 million and medical sales $10 million. Since legalization, cumulative statewide sales have surpassed $2.02 billion, including $1.45 billion in adult-use and $572.7 million in medical sales, across more than 45 million transactions, according to the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.
Are NBA players allowed to use cannabis?
Under the 2023 NBA–NBPA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), cannabis is not a prohibited substance and players are not randomly tested for marijuana. However, the league can still take action if a player is impaired during team or NBA activities or violates the law or conduct rules.
The agreement also permits players to invest in cannabis-related businesses (with restrictions) and endorse certain CBD products with prior approval. In short, off-court cannabis use is not automatically a violation, but on-duty impairment remains prohibited.
Read the complete CBA here.
Aaron Bedoya is a manager and content strategist for the El Paso Times. He can be reached at abedoya@elpasotimes.com.
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