The Center submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding disclosure and transparency of AI-generated content in political advertisements. The FCC is proposing to require all broadcasters to provide an on-air announcement disclosing the use of AI-generated content in political ads. Specifically, the FCC proposes “to require that all radio and television broadcast stations that air political ads inquire whether political ads scheduled to be aired on their stations contain AI-generated content and provide an on-air announcement for all such ads disclosing the use of AI-generated content in the ad.” This requirement would make an arbitrary distinction between AI-generated content and non-AI generated content, which could both discourage the legitimate use of the technology and mislead the public as to the veracity of political ads. A better approach would be to require disclosure of “materially deceptive media” used in political ads, regardless of the technology used to create such content. However, even these requirements would be more appropriately addressed by state and federal election laws to create consistent requirements for all election ads, such as those shared via online streaming platforms and on social media, not just those distributed on platforms controlled by broadcasters and other entities regulated by the FCC.
Daniel Castro
Daniel Castro is the director of the Center for Data Innovation and vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Mr. Castro writes and speaks on a variety of issues related to information technology and internet policy, including data, privacy, security, intellectual property, internet governance, e-government, and accessibility for people with disabilities. His work has been quoted and cited in numerous media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, USA Today, Bloomberg News, and Businessweek. In 2013, Mr. Castro was named to FedScoop’s list of “Top 25 most influential people under 40 in government and tech.” In 2015, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker appointed Mr. Castro to the Commerce Data Advisory Council. Mr. Castro previously worked as an IT analyst at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) where he audited IT security and management controls at various government agencies. He contributed to GAO reports on the state of information security at a variety of federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In addition, Mr. Castro was a Visiting Scientist at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he developed virtual training simulations to provide clients with hands-on training of the latest information security tools. He has a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an M.S. in Information Security Technology and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.