TO CREATE CRIMINAL OFFENSES RELATED TO DECEPTIVE AND INJURIOUS MEDIA IN THE COURSE OF ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.

House Bill 1141 proposed creating a new criminal offense in Arkansas related to the use of "deep fakes" in election campaigns, directly affecting individuals involved in political communication and candidates for office. The bill defined a "deep fake" as media deliberately manipulated using artificial intelligence to falsely depict a real person performing an action, with the intent to deceive and injure a candidate. It would have made it unlawful to create or distribute such a deep fake with the intent to injure a candidate during the 90 days before a general election. A clear label identifying the communication as a deep fake would have served as an affirmative defense against prosecution for this offense.