Connecticut HB 5342: AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER MEANS TO GENERATE DECEPTIVE SYNTHETIC MEDIA AND AFFECT ELECTIONS.

Bill Text

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General Assembly  
Substitute Bill No. 5342  
February Session, 2026 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 
AND OTHER MEANS TO GENERATE DECEPTIVE SYNTHETIC MEDIA 
AND AFFECT ELECTIONS.  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section: 1 
(1)  "Candidate"  means  any  individual  who  seeks  nomination  for 2 
election,  or  election  to  public  office  whether  or  not  such  individual  is 3 
elected; 4 
(2) "Deceptive synthetic media" means any image, audio or video of 5 
an  individual,  and  any  representation  of  such  individual's  speech  or 6 
conduct  that  is  substantially  derived  from  any  such  image,  audio  or 7 
video, which a reasonable person would believe depicts the speech or 8 
conduct of such individual when such individual did not in fact engage 9 
in such speech or conduct; 10 
(3) "Election" has the same meaning as provided in section 9-1 of the 11 
general statutes; 12 
(4) "Individual" means a human being; 13 
(5) "Person" has the same meaning as provided in section 9-601 of the 14 
general statutes; and 15 

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(6) "Primary" has the same meaning as provided in section 9-372 of 16 
the general statutes. 17 
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, no person shall 18 
distribute, or enter into any agreement to distribute, a communication 19 
containing  any  image,  audio  or  video  of  an  individual  during  the 20 
ninety-day period preceding any election or primary if: 21 
(1)  Such  person  (A)  knows  or  should  reasonably  know  that  such 22 
image,  audio  or  video  is  deceptive  synthetic  media,  or  (B)  in  the  case 23 
where the individual depicted therein is a public official or public figure, 24 
acts with reckless disregard as to whether such image, audio or video is 25 
deceptive synthetic media; 26 
(2) The communication containing such deceptive synthetic media is 27 
distributed without the consent of such individual; and 28 
(3) Such distribution is intended to injure a candidate or influence the 29 
result of such election or primary. 30 
(c) A person may distribute, or enter into an agreement to distribute, 31 
a  communication  containing  deceptive  synthetic  media  during  the 32 
ninety-day period preceding a primary or election if: 33 
(1) For such deceptive synthetic media that: 34 
(A) Is an image or consists only of an image, (i) a disclaimer stating 35 
"This communication contains an image that has been manipulated" or 36 
"This image has been manipulated", as applicable, or using substantially 37 
the  same  words,  appears  in  text  that  is  clearly  visible  to  and  easily 38 
readable by the average viewer, and (ii) in the case of any such image 39 
that  was  generated  by  editing  or  manipulating  an  existing  image,  a 40 
citation  directing  such  viewer  to  the  original  source  from  which  the 41 
unedited   or   unmanipulated   version   of   such   existing   image   was 42 
obtained; 43 
(B)    Consists    only    of    audio,    (i)    a    disclaimer    stating    "This 44 
communication  contains  audio  that  has  been  manipulated",  or  using 45 

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substantially the same words, is read in a clearly spoken manner, in a 46 
pitch  that  can  be  easily  heard  by  the  average  listener  and  in  the  same 47 
language as the deceptive synthetic media and any other language such 48 
person should reasonably expect such listener to speak or understand, 49 
and which disclaimer is read at the beginning of such communication, 50 
at the end of such communication and, if such communication is greater 51 
than one minute in length, interspersed within such communication at 52 
not  less  frequently  than  thirty-second  intervals,  and  (ii)  in  the  case  of 53 
any such audio that was generated by editing or manipulating existing 54 
audio, a citation directing such listener to the original source from which 55 
the  unedited  or  unmanipulated  version  of  such  existing  audio  was 56 
obtained; or 57 
(C) Is a video, (i) a disclaimer stating "This communication contains 58 
video  that  has  been  manipulated",  or  using  substantially  the  same 59 
words, appears in text that is clearly visible to and easily readable by the 60 
average viewer and is in the same language as the deceptive synthetic 61 
media  and  any  other  language  such  person  should  reasonably  expect 62 
such viewer to speak or understand, and which disclaimer appears for 63 
the  duration  of  such  communication,  and  (ii)  in  the  case  of  any  such 64 
video that was generated by editing or manipulating an existing video, 65 
a  citation  directing  such  viewer  to  the  original  source  from  which  the 66 
unedited   or   unmanipulated   version