United States - Missouri - AI in Elections (SB 509)
Creates new provisions relating to the use of artificial intelligence in elections
United States
RAI-US-MO-CNPRUXX-2025Missouri SB 509 requires disclaimers on political advertisements using generative AI, especially if content is deceptive or misrepresents individuals, with penalties for non-compliance.
Summary
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Overview
Missouri Senate Bill 509 (SB 509) introduces new legal provisions concerning the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in election-related communications within the state. The bill aims to ensure transparency and prevent deception in political discourse by regulating the use of AI-generated content in political advertisements, electioneering communications, and other political advertisements. It mandates clear disclaimers for media created using generative AI under specific conditions and establishes penalties for non-compliance.Definitions
The bill defines key terms to clarify its scope.- Generative artificial intelligence or generative AI refers to "a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, emulate the structure and characteristics of input data in order to generate derived synthetic content including images, videos, audio, text, and other multi-media digital content."
- Metadata is defined as "structural or descriptive information about data such as content, format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, periodicity, granularity, publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of collection, and other relevant descriptions of the data."
Governance and Institutional Framework
The bill was introduced in the Missouri Senate by Senator Nicola. Following its second reading on February 27, 2025, it was referred to the Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee for further review.Key Focus Areas
The primary focus of SB 509 is to regulate the use of generative AI in political communications. It mandates that a disclaimer must be included in any political advertisement, electioneering communication, or other political advertisement that contains images, video, audio, graphics, or other digital content created, in whole or in part, with generative AI, under the following conditions:- It appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not actually occur.
- It manipulates the voice or actions of a candidate to show the candidate, audibly or visually, doing or saying something that the candidate did not do or say.
- It was created with the intent to injure a candidate or to deceive voters regarding an election or ballot issue.
Implementation Framework
The bill specifies how the required disclaimers must be displayed across various media types:- Printed communication: The disclaimer must be in bold font with a font size of at least twelve points.
- Television or video communication: The disclaimer must be clearly readable throughout the communication and occupy at least four percent of the vertical picture height.
- Internet public communication (text or graphic components): The disclaimer shall be viewable without the user taking any action and be large enough to be clearly readable.
- Audio component of a communication: The disclaimer shall be at least three seconds in length and spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at either the beginning or the end of the audio component of the communication.
- Graphic communication: The disclaimer shall be large enough to be clearly readable but no less than four percent of the vertical height of the communication.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The bill does not explicitly detail a framework for monitoring and evaluation beyond the enforcement provisions. Compliance would likely be assessed through investigations triggered by complaints or observed violations.Penalties, Liability, and Appeals
Any person identified as paying for, sponsoring, or approving media covered by this act who fails to include the required disclaimer is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, in addition to any other civil penalties provided by law.Relationship to Other Instruments
The bill proposes to amend Chapter 130 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 130.165, to address the use of artificial intelligence in elections.International Alignment
This bill is a state-level legislative effort within the United States and does not address international alignment.Implementation Timeline
| Date | Milestone | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-08 | Introduced in the Senate | Completed |
| 2025-02-27 | Second Read and Referred to S Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee | Completed |
Compliance Checklist
| Requirement | Description | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Disclaimer for AI-generated content | Political advertisements, electioneering communications, or other political advertisements using generative AI under specific conditions (e.g., false depiction of real persons, manipulation of candidate voice/actions, intent to deceive) must include a clear disclaimer. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
| Disclaimer specifications (print) | Bold font, at least twelve points. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
| Disclaimer specifications (TV/video) | Clearly readable throughout, at least four percent of vertical picture height. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
| Disclaimer specifications (internet text/graphic) | Viewable without user action, clearly readable size. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
| Disclaimer specifications (audio) | At least three seconds, clearly audible and intelligible, at beginning or end. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
| Disclaimer specifications (graphic) | Clearly readable size, at least four percent of vertical height. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
| Metadata disclosure | Metadata of AI-generated communications must include disclosure of AI tool used and creation date, permanently embedded where technically possible. | Upon enactment (if passed) |
Sources and References
| Source | Type |
|---|---|
| SB509 - Creates new provisions relating to the use of artificial intelligence in elections - Missouri Senate | Parliament/Legislature |
| SENATE BILL NO. 509 (Full Text) | Parliament/Legislature |
| Missouri House Passes Legislation to Spearhead Rising Deepfake Media: A First for Electronic Communications in Missouri (HBs 2628 & 2603) | Parliament/Legislature |
Missouri Senate Bill 509 aims to bring transparency to political advertising by requiring disclaimers on election-related content that uses generative artificial intelligence to create deceptive or misleading depictions of individuals or events.
This proposed legislation applies to anyone paying for, sponsoring, or approving political advertisements, electioneering communications, or other political ads in Missouri. If these communications contain images, video, audio, or graphics created with generative AI, a disclaimer is mandatory under specific conditions. These conditions include when the AI content: - Appears to show a real person doing something they didn't. - Manipulates a candidate's voice or actions to misrepresent them. - Was created with the intent to harm a candidate or deceive voters about an election or ballot issue.
The bill outlines strict rules for how these disclaimers must appear, from font size in print (at least 12 points bold) to screen time in video (at least four percent of vertical height) and audibility in audio (at least three seconds, clear and intelligible). A key obligation also requires that the metadata of such AI-generated content disclose the AI tool used and the creation date, embedded as permanently as technically possible.
Currently, this bill is stalled in the Missouri Senate and is not yet law, so its effective date is unknown. Should it pass, failing to include the required disclaimer would be a Class A misdemeanor, carrying potential criminal charges in addition to any civil penalties. A practical pitfall for teams could be the often-overlooked metadata requirement; ensuring AI tools embed this information permanently might require technical adjustments or new workflows, especially for content that might be shared and stripped of its original context.
Plain-English rewrite by Regulations.ai — not legal advice. Verify against the official text.
What you must do — compliance checklist
0 / 7 marked completePlain-English obligations under United States - Missouri - AI in Elections (SB 509). Not legal advice — verify against the official text before relying on it.
- #1CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving political advertisements.
“a disclaimer must be included in any political advertisement... that contains... content created... with generative AI”
- #2CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving political advertisements.
“metadata of such communications include disclosure information about the AI tool used and the creation date”
- #3CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving printed political advertisements.
“Printed communication: The disclaimer must be in bold font with a font size of at least twelve points.”
- #4CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving TV or video political advertisements.
“Television or video communication: The disclaimer must be clearly readable... and occupy at least four percent of the vertical picture height.”
- #5CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving internet political advertisements.
“Internet public communication... The disclaimer shall be viewable without the user taking any action and be large enough to be clearly readable.”
- #6CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving audio political advertisements.
“Audio component... The disclaimer shall be at least three seconds in length and spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner.”
- #7CriticalSection 130.165⏰ Upon enactment
Applies to: Any person paying for, sponsoring, or approving graphic political advertisements.
“Graphic communication: The disclaimer shall be large enough to be clearly readable but no less than four percent of the vertical height.”
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