AI in Political Ads Rule Unlikely Before Election: Carr

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2024 – The Federal Communications Commission’s senior Republican said he doesn’t see the agency instituting new rules around AI-generated content in political ads before the presidential election in November.

“If you look at the clock at this point, how long it took the FCC to go through our internal procedures to vote this, including, I guess, how long it took me to cast my final vote on this,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Monday at a Federalist Society webinar, “I don’t see a path forward at this point to the FCC adopting these rules and making them effective before this election.”

The agency voted along party lines to put the proposed rules, which would require political advertisers on broadcast TV and radio to disclose the use of AI-generated content, up for public comment in July. The comment period is open until October 11.

Carr opposed the rules from the outset, arguing the agency’s authority to mandate disclosures on political ads was limited to the current requirement: disclosures detailing who paid for the ad. He’s also characterized the proposal as a Democratic effort to disadvantage the GOP in November, a claim the FCC’s Democratic chairwoman has called “not remotely accurate.”

He continued that line of criticism Monday, saying the rules fit into partisan debates over moderating online speech and linking them to a comment from Hillary Clinton in a CNN interview Friday. She called for repealing Section 230, which shields online platforms from responsibility for their users’ posts, and regulation on social media companies.

“This rule doesn’t deal with the internet, it deals with the limited scope of broadcast.” Chris Lewis, president of Public Knowledge, which largely supported the rules, said at the webinar. “It does not threaten to take away a license from a broadcaster. It simply requires that they provide a level of transparency and disclosure.”

A spokesperson for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: “The FCC plans to move forward with its thoughtful approach to AI disclosure and increased transparency in political ads.”