Barrasso, Lummis bill would stop FCC regulation of AI in campaign ads

CHEYENNE (WNE) — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Thursday introduced the Ending FCC Meddling in Our Elections Act of 2024, which would block what they described as the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “last ditch effort to interfere with the outcome of the presidential election.”

Barrasso and Lummis cosponsored this bill to protect the people of Wyoming’s right to free and fair elections, the senators said in a news release.

“It is unacceptable for unelected, Democrat federal officials to abuse their power and interfere in the upcoming presidential elections,” Barrasso said in the release.

“The new rule introduced by the FCC’s Democrat majority is their 11th-hour attempt to tip the scales in favor of Democrats ahead of the presidential election,” Lummis said in the release.

Last month, the FCC issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking, announcing its plan to introduce new regulations on the use of AI in campaign ads appearing on TV and radio.

This legislation, if passed, would prohibit the use of federal funds to enforce any rule created as a result of this rulemaking. The senators’ news release said, “Only Congress, in a careful and transparent deliberative process, should be determining regulations surrounding AI-generated campaign ads.”

This story was published on June 22, 2024.