Cases & Actions
Federal Election Commission Comment - Response to Public Citizen’s Petition for Rulemaking
The Election Law Clinic and the Cyberlaw Clinic jointly submitted a comment to the Federal Election Commission, urging the Commission to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in election campaigns and provide guidance on its use moving forward.
STATUS: OPEN
UPDATED: October 17, 2023
ISSUES: Artificial Intelligence, Election Campaigns
BACKGROUND
The advocacy group Public Citizen petitioned the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) to open a rulemaking to clarify rules around Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in campaign ads. On October 16, 2023, the Election Law Clinic and the Cyberlaw Clinic jointly urged the FEC to open a rulemaking to clarify that current regulations apply to AI-generated content and to provide guidance on the scope of its authority to regulate other uses of AI in campaign ads.
Recent years have seen a proliferation of misinformation aimed at deterring democratic processes. Meanwhile, public confidence in U.S. democracy has eroded. As AI proliferates, the Election Law Clinic and Cyberlaw Clinic argue that the FEC has authority to regulate some uses of AI. The comment also asks the FEC to clarify the extent of its authority to regulate AI in campaign advertising, which would enable other institutions like Congress to fill regulatory gaps.
Read our comment here.