Idaho House Bill 664 (HB 664) – Deepfake Legality and Implications

1. Overview

HB 664 (the Freedom From AI-Rigged Elections Act) was passed on March 25, 2024. It will penalize the abuse of deepfakes created through AI use via political campaigns by empowering political candidates to pursue legal recourse in case synthetic media fraudulently presents their words or actions during electioneering communications.

2. Scope of the Law

HB 664 is applicable to those electioneering communications where the artificial intelligence-generated or manipulated media presents a candidate in a false light. By going after the synthetic media that manipulates a candidate in terms of speech or behavior, the law will protect electoral integrity and avoid manipulating the voters.

3. Key Provisions

• Legal Relief: However, candidates have a chance to file injunctions to prevent the spread of misleading synthetic media.
• Damages: Victims of the misrepresentation of an AI-generated media have potential actions to claim loss.
• Exceptions: The legislation also has safeguards to prevent it falling foul of free speech or legitimate works of art.

4. Penalties & Enforcement

HB 664 is not a criminal offense. Rather, the enforcement is done by civil procedures brought about by the affected candidates. This model focuses on being accountable, deterring activity, and thus is not characterized by widespread prohibitions of constitutionally shielded communication.

5. National Context

Idaho is one of the first states to pass legislation against the manipulation of elections with the help of AI. The like-minded bill in other regions throughout the U.S. demonstrates the trend in the protection of the democratic mechanisms and processes against the danger of synthetic media.

6. Future Outlook

HB 664 might become an example of a legislative act in other states. Lawmakers will probably keep on legislating to strike the proper balance between constitutional rights on one hand and transparency and electoral fairness on the other hand as the AI technology evolves.