Relating to prohibiting the use of certain political advertising manipulated by generative artificial intelligence technology; creating a criminal offense.

SB 228 prohibits the use of AI-manipulated political advertisements that create realistic but false depictions of candidates or officeholders. Specifically, it bans publishing, distributing, or broadcasting AI-altered images, audio, or videos that misrepresent a candidate’s appearance, speech, or conduct in a way that would change a reasonable person’s understanding of them. Violating this law is a Class B misdemeanor. The law takes effect September 1, 2025, and applies only to political ads published after that date.