HB 811 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act providing for civil liability for fraudulent misrepresentation of candidates; and imposing penalties.

HB 811 would create civil liability for political candidates who make false statements about themselves or others during campaigns. It allows affected individuals or entities to sue for damages if a candidate knowingly makes a fraudulent misrepresentation. The bill directly affects candidates running for office and voters who may be misled by false claims. Key provisions establish a legal pathway for civil lawsuits rather than criminal penalties, requiring proof of intentional falsehoods. This bill is currently in the Communications & Technology committee after passing final passage.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2025

House Passage

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 5, 2025 Last action Jun 24, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN0841 → Printer's No. PN1819 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from an early draft to a later version that significantly strengthens protections against AI-generated fake content (deepfakes) in political campaigns. Key changes include adding specific definitions for 'deepfake' and 'digital content provenance,' requiring embedded technical metadata to track content origins, and expanding civil penalties to include federal candidates like the Vice President. The version also clarifies exemptions for technology providers and satire, while tightening the rules for when disclosures must appear.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly cover the Vice President of the United States in addition to the President, and it now mandates that covered entities embed technical 'provenance' data into deepfakes to prove their origin.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'deepfake' (realistic AI content not physically performed) and 'digital content provenance' (technical data tracking content history).

REQUIREMENT

Changed the disclosure requirement to mandate that deepfakes carry embedded 'tamper-evident' digital content provenance showing who created and edited the content.

Added a requirement that disclosures must be in the same language as the advertisement, with an English translation if the original is not English.

ENFORCEMENT

Increased the maximum civil penalty for deepfakes involving federal candidates to $250,000 per day and added 'VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES' to the list of protected offices.

Clarified that frivolous lawsuits against deepfake creators will result in the plaintiff (candidate) having to show cause why the suit shouldn't be dismissed, rather than automatically suspending the defendant.

EXEMPTIONS

Added an explicit exemption for the provider or developer of the technology used to create the deepfake.

Floor votes · House Jun 23, 2025

How they voted

203–0

Passed

Total votes 203

Jun 23, 2025

D Democratic102

102 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican101

101 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Communications & Technology

upper

Jun 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third consideration and final passage

lower

Jun 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Jun 17, 2025

Committee

Re-committed to Appropriations

lower

Jun 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Jun 3, 2025

Committee

Re-committed to Rules

lower

Jun 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported as amended

lower

Mar 5, 2025

Committee

Referred to Communications & Technology

lower

1 primary · 34 co-sponsors