South Carolina H 3517: Deceptive and fraudulent deepfake media in elections

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3517 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3517

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
7-25-230 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE DISTRIBUTION OF DECEPTIVE AND FRAUDULENT 
DEEPFAKE MEDIA OF A CANDIDATE WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF AN ELECTION UNLESS THE 
MEDIA INCLUDES REQUISITE DISCLOSURE LANGUAGE, AND TO AUTHORIZE A CANDIDATE 
WHOSE LIKENESS IS DEPICTED IN MEDIA DISTRIBUTED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION TO 
SEEK INJUNCTIVE OR OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF AS WELL AS AN ACTION FOR DAMAGES 
AGAINST THE DISTRIBUTOR OF THE MEDIA.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 25, Title 7 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
7-25-230. (A) For purposes of this 
section:

 (1) 
"Synthetic media" means an image, audio recording, or video recording of an 
individual's appearance, speech, or conduct that has been created or 
intentionally manipulated with the use of generative adversarial network 
techniques or other digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but 
false image, audio, or video.

 (2) 
"Deceptive and fraudulent deepfake" means synthetic media that depicts a 
candidate with the intent to injure the reputation of the candidate or 
otherwise deceive a voter that:

 (a) 
appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or doing 
something that did not actually occur in reality; or

 (b) 
provides a reasonable person a fundamentally different understanding or 
impression of the appearance, action, or speech than a reasonable person would 
have from the unaltered, original version of the image, audio recording, or 
video recording.

 (B) 
Except as provided in subsection (C), a person, corporation, committee, or 
other entity shall not, within ninety days of an election at which a candidate 
for elective office will appear on the ballot, distribute a synthetic media 
message that the person, corporation, committee, or other entity knows or 
should have known is a deceptive and fraudulent deepfake of a candidate on the 
ballot.

 (C) 
The prohibition in subsection (B) does not apply if the audio or visual media 
includes a disclosure stating: "This _________ (image, video, or audio) has 
been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence."

 (1) 
For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is 
easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size 
of other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual media does not 
include any other text, the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily 
readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is video, the disclosure 
shall appear for the duration of the video.

 (2) 
If the media consists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read in a clearly 
spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, 
at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is 
greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals 
of not greater than two minutes each.

 (D)(1) A candidate whose appearance, 
action, or speech is depicted through the use of a deceptive and fraudulent 
deepfake in violation of subsection (B) may seek injunctive or other equitable 
relief prohibiting the publication of such deceptive and fraudulent deepfake.

 (2) 
A candidate whose appearance, action, or speech is depicted using a deceptive 
and fraudulent deepfake in violation of subsection (B) may also bring an action 
for general or special damages against the sponsor. The court may award a 
prevailing person reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. This subsection does 
not limit or preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any other 
available remedy.

 (E) A 
person found to be in violation of subsection (B) is guilty of a misdemeanor 
and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ninety days or fined not 
more than five hundred dollars, or both. For a second offense occurring within 
five years of a previous conviction for a violation of subsection (B), the 
offender is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not 
more than five years or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both.

 (F) 
This section does not apply to:

 (1) 
a radio or television broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite 
television operator, programmer, or producer, that broadcasts a deceptive and 
fraudulent deepfake prohibited by this section as part of a bona fide newscast, 
news interview, news documentary, or on-the-spot coverage of bona fide news 
events, if the broadcast clearly acknowledges through content or a disclosure, 
in a manner that can be easily heard or read by the av