Provides civil penalties for campaign advertisements containing "deepfake" misrepresentations of candidates.

A4163

ASSEMBLY, No. 4163

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY

District 7 (Burlington)

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides civil penalties for campaign advertisements
containing �deepfake� misrepresentations of candidates.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning fraudulent misrepresentation of
political candidates, and supplementing P.L.1975, c.190.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1. As used in P.L.1975, c.190,
and any amendments and supplements thereto:

���� �Campaign advertisement� means
a public advertisement for the purposes of influencing public opinion with
respect to legislative, administrative, or electoral matters utilizing a medium
that includes mailings, emails, telephone calls, radio, television, billboards,
yard signs, or other media.

���� �Candidate� means� (1) an
individual seeking election to a public office of the United States, or of this
State or of a county, municipality or school district at an election; except
that the term shall not include an individual seeking party office; (2) an
individual who shall have been elected or failed of election to an office,
other than a party office, for which the individual sought election and who
receives contributions and makes expenditures for any of the purposes
authorized by section 17 of P.L.1993, c.65 (C.19:44A-11.2) during the period of
the individual�s service in that office; and (3) an individual who has received
funds or other benefits or has made payments solely for the purpose of
determining whether the individual should become a candidate.� The term
includes a current or former candidate.

���� �Covered person� means any of
the following:

���� (1) A candidate;

���� (2) A firm, partnership,
corporation, limited liability company, association, organization, or similar
entity;

���� (3) A political committee,
including a political action committee, a political party, or a political body;

���� (4) A political action
committee that only receives contributions to make independent expenditures;

���� (5) A foreign government,
including any agency or instrumentality thereof; or

���� (6) An employee, contractor,
or individual acting at the behest of an entity specified under paragraph (1),
(2), (3), (4), or (5) herein, or an officer, director, employee, owner,
shareholder, or contractor thereof.

���� �Deepfake� means any video
recording, motion picture film, sound recording, electronic image or
photograph, or any technological representation of speech or conduct
substantially derivative thereof:

���� (1) that is so realistic that
a reasonable person would believe it depicts speech or conduct of an individual
who did not in fact engage in the speech or conduct; and

���� (2) the production of which
was substantially dependent upon technical means rather than the ability of
another individual to physically or verbally impersonate the individual.

���� �Digital content provenance�
means factual information that details a digital resource�s creator, origin,
context, history, and editing process, and conforms to an open industry
technical standard.

���� �Disseminate� means to
produce, publish, distribute, broadcast, publicize, display, transmit, or
otherwise publicly share.

���� �Election� means the procedure
whereby the electors of this State or any political subdivision thereof elect
persons to fill public office or pass on public questions.

���� �Interactive computer service�
means any information service, system, or access software provider that
provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server,
including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet,
and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational
institutions.

���� �Public office� means any
office in the government of the United States, or of this State or any of its
political subdivisions, filled at elections by the electors of the State or
political subdivision.

���� 2. a. A covered person shall
be liable for fraudulent misrepresentation of a candidate for public office if,
at any time on or after the date that the candidate establishes a candidate
committee or joint candidates committee pursuant to subsection a. of section 9
of P.L.1973, c.83 (C.19:44A-9) or the candidate files a Statement of Candidacy
with the Federal Election Commission pursuant to subsection a. of 11 C.F.R.
s.101.1, the covered person knowingly and intentionally disseminates or causes
to be disseminated a campaign advertisement that contains a deepfake of the
candidate.

���� b. A covered person shall not
be liable under subsection a. of this section if the campaign advertisement
contains a clear and conspicuous disclosure.� The disclosure under this
subsection must:

���� (1) State that the campaign
advertisement contains deepfake content of a candidate for public office.� The
disclosure shall be in substantially the following form:

���� �This
(image/video/sound/content) contains deepfake content and

has been manipulated or generated
to depict speech or conduct that did not occur.�;

���� (2) Be displayed each time the
campaign advertisement is presented;

���� (3) Be presented in a manner
reasonably understandable and readily noticeable.� The following shall apply:

���� (a) For content presented in
static images, the disclosure shall be in written form, in a size and font that
is easily readable by the average viewer, accessible screen readers, and other
technology to assist visually impaired users;

���� (b) For content presented in
video formats, the disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video in a
format that is easily readable by the average viewer.� The disclosure shall be
read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and at a speed that can be
easily heard by the average listener at the beginning and end of the video; and

���� (c) For content that consists
of only audio, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a
pitch and at a speed that can be easily heard by the average listener at the
beginning and end of the audio and, if the audio is more than two minutes in
length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not more than two minutes
each; and

���� (4) Be in the same language as
used in the campaign advertisement.� For content presented in static images or
video formats, if the language used is not English, the disclosure must appear
in both the language used and in English.

���� c. A covered person shall
ensure that content in a campaign advertisement containing a disclosure under
subsection b. of this section carries an embedded tamper-evident digital
content provenance for the deepfake content that discloses:

���� (1) The initial authority and
creator of the content;

���� (2) Any subsequent entities
that exited, altered, or otherwise modified the content; and

���� (3) Any use of digital
technology in generating or modifying the substantive content.

���� d. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to apply to any of the following:

���� (1) A law enforcement officer
engaged in the performance of the law enforcement officer�s official duties;

���� (2) A streaming service or
radio or television broadcaster, including a cable or satellite television
operator, programmer, or producer that disseminates a campaign advertisement
provided by another person;

���� (3) A newspaper, magazine, or
other periodical, including an Internet or electronic publication, which
routinely carries news and commentary of general interest and that disseminates
a campaign advertisement provided by another person;

���� (4) An entity under paragraph
(2) or (3) of this subsection when the entity is paid to disseminate a campaign
advertisement with the consent of the candidate as specified under subsection
d. of section 3 of P.L.��� �, c.���� (C.���� ) (pending before the Legislature
as this bill);

���� (5) An interactive computer
service;

���� (6) An Internet service
provider, cloud storage service provider, cybersecurity provider, communication
service provider, or telecommunications network;

���� (7) Content that constitutes
satire or parody which is substantially dependent on the ability of an
individual to impersonate a candidate physically or verbally and not upon
technology; or

���� (8) The provider or developer
of the technology used in the creation of the deepfake.

���� e. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to:

���� (1) restrict the ability of a
covered person to detect, prevent, respond to, or protect against security
incidents, identity theft, fraud, harassment, malicious or deceptive
activities, or any illegal activity, preserve the integrity or security of
computer systems, or investigate, report, or prosecute those responsible for
any such action; or

���� (2) limit or preclude a
candidate from securing or recovering any other available remedies at law or in
equity.

���� 3. �a. In addition to the
penalties established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1975, c.190 (C.19:34-68), a
candidate for public office aggrieved by a covered person under section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) may bring a civil action against the
covered person in a court of competent jurisdiction and shall be entitled to
recover punitive damages, reasonable attorneys� fees, and other reasonably
related litigation costs incurred relating to the civil action.� Upon a showing
of cause for the issuance of injunctive relief, a court may issue a temporary
restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction as the court
deems appropriate.� During any period that a civil action under this subsection
is pending, a court may order the immediate removal of the campaign
advertisement, cessation of the activity forming the basis of the complaint, or
a prohibition of campaign advertisement expenditures.

���� b. (1) In addition to any
other judgment or relief awarded under subsection a. of this section to an
aggrieved candidate for public office, a court may, for each campaign
advertisement containing unique deepfake content, impose a civil penalty on the
covered person for each day the fraudulent misrepresentation is disseminated in
an amount up to:

���� (a) $15,000 per day when the
campaign advertisement contains unique deepfake content of a candidate for a
municipal or county public office;

���� (b) $50,000 per day when the
campaign advertisement contains unique deepfake content of a candidate for the
Legislature, Governor, or Lieutenant Governor; and

���� (c) $250,000 per day when the
campaign advertisement contains unique deepfake content of a candidate for
President of the United States, Vice President of the United States,
presidential elector, the United States Senate, or the United States House of
Representatives.

���� (2) For a covered person that
is a political action committee that only receives contributions to make
independent expenditures, the court may impose twice the amounts specified
under paragraph (1) of this subsection on the covered person.

���� c. If a court determines that
a civil action brought under this section is frivolous, the court shall issue
an order suspending the covered person�s obligation to respond to the civil
action and shall order the candidate to show cause why the civil action should
not be dismissed.� If the candidate fails to respond to the court or the
candidate�s response to the court confirms that the civil action is frivolous,
the court shall dismiss the civil action and may award reasonable attorneys�
fees and other reasonably related litigation costs incurred relating to the
civil action to the covered person and may impose appropriate sanctions against
the candidate and the candidate�s attorney.

���� d. It shall be a defense to a
civil action brought under this section that the covered person disseminated
the campaign advertisement containing deepfake content with the consent of the
candidate if the covered person who disseminated the campaign advertisement can
establish that the candidate has given the candidate�s express, written
consent.

���� 4. �This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill supplements the �Fair
Campaign Practices Act,� P.L.1975, c.190, by providing for a civil cause of
action for campaign advertisements containing �deepfake� misrepresentations of
candidates generated by artificial intelligence technology.

���� The bill defines �deepfake� as
any video recording, motion picture film, sound recording, electronic image or
photograph, or any technological representation of speech or conduct
substantially derivative thereof: (1) that is so realistic that a reasonable
person would believe it depicts speech or conduct of an individual who did not
in fact engage in the speech or conduct; and (2) the production of which was
substantially dependent upon technical means rather than the ability of another
individual to physically or verbally impersonate the individual.� The bill
applies to all candidates, corporate entities, political action committees,
political parties, and any employee, contractor, or individual acting at the
behest of a candidate or covered entity.

���� Under the bill, a covered
person is liable for fraudulent misrepresentation of a candidate if the covered
person knowingly and intentionally disseminates a campaign advertisement
containing a deepfake, and provides an exemption if the advertisement clearly
discloses that it contains deepfake content.� A candidate is protected under
the bill from the date that the candidate establishes a candidate committee
under State law, or the date that the candidate files a Statement of Candidacy
with the Federal Election Commission under federal law.�

���� A candidate for office may
bring a civil action against a covered person if aggrieved by a campaign
advertisement containing deepfake content and may be entitled to recover
punitive damages.� During any period while a civil action is pending, a court
may order the immediate removal of the campaign advertisement in question or
prohibit the making of any campaign advertisement expenditure.� A court may
additionally impose civil penalties for each campaign advertisement containing
unique deepfake content, in an amount of up to $15,000 per day related to
campaigns for municipal or county public office, $50,000 per day for State
public office, and $250,000 for federal public office.

���� The bill would not apply to:
law enforcement officers in their official duties; streaming services and
television, radio, cable, or satellite broadcasters; newspapers, magazines, and
periodicals; interactive computer services; Internet service providers;
providers of cloud storage, cybersecurity, or communication services;
telecommunications networks; providers or developers of artificial intelligence
technology; or content that constitutes satire or parody.

���� This bill is substantially
based upon Pennsylvania bill H.B.811, passed by the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives on June 23, 2025.