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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1183
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHROER.
4705S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapter 115, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to synthetic media, with
penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 115, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
one new section, to be known as section 115.645, to read as 2
follows:3
115.645. 1. For the purposes of this section, the 1
following terms shall mean: 2
(1) "Creator", any person that utilizes or deploys 3
artificial intelligence or other digital technology to 4
generate synthetic media, but does not include a provider or 5
a developer of any technology used in the creation of 6
synthetic media; 7
(2) "Deceptive and fraudulent deepfake", synthetic 8
media that provides false information to voters about where, 9
when, or how they can lawfully vote or depicts a candidate 10
or political party with the intent to injure the reputation 11
of the candidate or party and otherwise deceive a voter that: 12
(a) Appears to a reasonable person to depict a real 13
individual saying or doing something that did not actually 14
occur; or 15
(b) Provides a reasonable person a fundamentally 16
different understanding or impression of the appearance, 17
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action, or speech of a candidate or party than such person 18
would have from an unaltered, original version of the image, 19
audio recording, or video recording; 20
(3) "Synthetic media", an image, audio recording, or 21
video recording of an individual's appearance, speech, or 22
conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated 23
with the use of generative adversarial network techniques or 24
other digital artificial intelligence technology in a manner 25
to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video. 26
2. Except as provided in subsection 3 of this section, 27
a creator shall not, within eighteen weeks of an election, 28
distribute a synthetic media message that the creator knows 29
or should have known is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake. 30
3. (1) The provisions of subsection 2 of this section 31
shall not apply if the creator of the audio or visual media 32
includes a disclosure stating: "This _______ has been 33
manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence.". 34
(2) The blank shall be filled in with whichever of the 35
following terms most accurately describes the media: image, 36
video, or audio. 37
(3) For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall 38
appear in a size no smaller than the largest font size of 39
other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual 40
media does not include any other text, the disclosure shall 41
appear in a size that is easily readable by the average 42
viewer. For visual media in video format, the disclosure 43
shall appear for the duration of the video. 44
(4) If the media consists of audio only, and no visual 45
disclosure is feasible, the disclosure shall be read in a 46
clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily 47
heard by the average listener at the beginning of the audio, 48
at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than 49
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two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at 50
intervals not to exceed two minutes in length. 51
4. A candidate whose appearance, action, or speech is 52
depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent 53
deepfake in violation of subsection 2 of this section may 54
seek injunctive or other equitable relief from the creator 55
prohibiting the publication of such deceptive and fraudulent 56
deepfake. 57
5. A person who violates the provisions of subsection 58
2 of this section may be subject to the following penalties: 59
(1) A class B misdemeanor; 60
(2) A class A misdemeanor if the person commits the 61
violation with the intent to cause violence or bodily harm; 62
(3) A class E felony if the person commits the 63
violation within five years of one or more prior convictions 64
under this section; or 65
(4) A civil penalty no less than one thousand dollars 66
per the first violation and not to exceed five million 67
dollars for any subsequent violation. 68
6. Any individual who has been harmed by violations of 69
the provisions of this section may bring a private civil 70
action in the court of competent jurisdiction. 71
7. This section shall not apply to a radio or 72
television broadcasting station, including a cable or 73
satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, that 74
broadcasts a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake prohibited by 75
this section as part of a bona fide newscast, news 76
interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of bona 77
fide news events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges 78
through content or a disclosure, in a manner that can be 79
easily heard or read by the average listener or viewer, that 80
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there are questions about the authenticity of the materially 81
deceptive audio or visual media. 82
8. This section shall not apply to a radio or 83
television broadcasting station, including a cable or 84
satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, or 85
website developer or owner, when it is paid to broadcast a 86
deceptive and fraudulent deepfake. The responsibility and 87
liability shall rest solely with the advertiser or entity 88
that paid to broadcast the deceptive and fraudulent deepfake 89
and not with the radio or television broadcasting station or 90
website developer or owner disseminating the deceptive or 91
fraudulent deepfake. 92
9. This section shall not apply to an internet website 93
or a regularly published newspaper, magazine, or other 94
periodical of general circulation, including an internet or 95
electronic publication, that routinely carries news and 96
commentary of general interest and that publishes a 97
deceptive and fraudulent deepfake prohibited by this section 98
if the publication clearly states that the audio or visual 99
media does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of 100
the candidate. 101
10. This section shall not apply to an interactive 102
computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. Section 230, for 103
content provided by another party. 104
11. This section shall not apply to materially 105
deceptive audio or visual media that constitutes satire or 106
parody. 107
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