Following Collins and Klobuchar Calls, Election Assistance Commission Votes to Allow Federal Funding to Combat AI-Generated Disinformation in Elections
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the statements below after the Republican and Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) voted unanimously to allow election officials to use federal election funds to counter disinformation in our elections caused by artificial intelligence (AI). This decision comes after Senators Collins and Klobuchar’s letter calling on the EAC to take action to address AI-generated disinformation in elections.
"This unanimous decision from the EAC will help protect Americans from scammers who are using artificial intelligence to attempt to corrupt our electoral processes,” said Senator Collins. “Congress has a responsibility to carefully consider and address the challenges associated with artificial intelligence. That is why I am continuing to support the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act. This bill would strengthen the integrity of our elections while also protecting First Amendment rights. I will continue to work to advance this important bipartisan legislation.”
“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, which is why I’ve been leading bipartisan efforts to stop the deceptive use of AI-generated content in the election process,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This unanimous ruling by the Election Assistance Commission after Senator Collins and I called on it to take action is an important step in the right direction to protect American voters and the integrity of our democratic system, but more must be done to prevent the fraudulent use of AI. I’m continuing to push to pass my bipartisan bill to ban deceptive AI-generated deepfakes in our elections and counter the spread of election-related disinformation.”
Last month, Senators Collins and Klobuchar called on the EAC to assist state and local election officials in combating the spread of AI-generated disinformation about our elections. Their letter followed the reports of AI-generated deepfake robocalls using President Biden’s voice to discourage voting in the New Hampshire primary election.
In September 2023, Senators Collins and Klobuchar, along with Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Chris Coons (D-DE), introduced the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, bipartisan legislation to ban the use of AI to generate materially deceptive content falsely depicting federal candidates to influence federal elections.
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