United States of America: Adopted Oregon Bill Relating to the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Campaign Communications (SB 1571)

On 5 March 2024, Senate Bill 1571, relating to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), was adopted by the Oregon State Legislature. The Act amends the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) no 260.345. The Act aims to implement requirements for disclosure of the use of AI in campaign ads and campaign communication. The Act provides a definition of synthetic media, meaning a digital technology that is used to create an image, audio or video recording of an individual's appearance or speech that a reasonable person would believe to be the real individual, without the conduct or speech to have actually occurred. Further, the Act provides for a complaint mechanism. Therefore, any elector may file a written complaint alleging a violation of the law. It is the task of the Secretary of State or the Attorney General to examine the complaint and start an investigation of a violation of the election law that has occurred. The Act stipulates that in case of a violation of this Amendment to the election law, the court can impose a civil penalty of a maximum USD 10'000.