HB 5342 Connecticut House · 2026 Regular Session

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

HB 5342 bans the distribution of AI-generated or manipulated images, audio, or video (called "deceptive synthetic media") during the 90 days before an election if it misleads people into thinking a real person said or did something they didn’t. It specifically targets content intended to harm a candidate or influence election results without the depicted person’s consent. The bill allows exceptions for news organizations (like TV stations or newspapers) that add clear disclaimers (e.g., "This video has been manipulated") and cite the original source, provided they follow specific formatting rules. This law directly affects political campaigns, social media platforms, and media distributors during election seasons, aiming to prevent deceptive content from swaying voters.

Issues: ✗ Technology

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 26, 2026 Last action Apr 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → GAE Joint Favorable Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' after being amended by the General Assembly. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new definition for 'Individual' to clarify that it refers specifically to a human being, while the definition for 'Person' remains unchanged. Additionally, the list of entities subject to the synthetic media disclosure rules was expanded to include streaming and digital broadcast service providers.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include streaming and other digital broadcast service providers in addition to traditional radio, television, and cable entities.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated from 'Raised Bill No. 5342' to 'Substitute Bill No. 5342' to reflect its status as an amended version.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'Individual' was added to explicitly mean 'a human being', clarifying the scope of the term within the legislation.

SCOPE

The definition of covered media entities was updated to include streaming and other digital broadcast service providers, broadening the bill's applicability to modern digital platforms.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

REF. BY HOUSE TO COMMITTEE ON Judiciary

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable Substitute

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Government Administration and Elections

lower

19 primary · 0 co-sponsors