Summary — North Dakota HB 1167 (Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Statements)
Status & Timeline
- Introduced: November 12, 2024
- Legislative action: Passed House (Yeas 90, Nays 0) and Senate (Yeas 46, Nays 0).
- Enrolled and transmitted to the governor; enacted and filed with the Secretary of State on April 11, 2025 (identified as Act 431 / filed 04/11/2025).
Purpose
- Require clear disclosure when artificial intelligence (AI) is used to create digital content for political purposes that visually or audibly impersonates a human. The goal is to increase transparency in political communications and advertising that use AI-generated imagery or voice.
Key Provisions
- Scope: Applies to any action taken for a political purpose, including communications and political advertising:
- In support of or opposition to a candidate, political committee, or political party; or
- For promoting the passage or defeat of initiated or referred measures or petitions.
- Disclosure requirement: Political content that contains images, graphics, videos, audio, text, or other digital content created in whole or in part with AI that visually or audibly impersonates a human must prominently include the disclaimer:
- "THIS CONTENT GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE."
- Exception: The requirement does not apply to content that uses AI solely for:
- Text generation, grammar correction, spelling checks, stylistic editing, or
- Enhancing existing content without creating a new impersonation of a human likeness or voice.
- Definition: “Artificial intelligence” is defined as a machine‑based system capable of creating images, graphics, videos, audio, text, and other digital content based on human‑defined objectives or data patterns. The term excludes systems explicitly programmed only to assist with grammar, spelling, or word suggestions that do not generate human likeness or voice.
Who is affected
- Political candidates, political committees, parties, campaign consultants, advertisers, and vendors producing or distributing political communications in North Dakota that use AI to create audiovisual or visual impersonations of humans.
- Digital platforms or media outlets that publish or host such political content may be implicated operationally (to the extent they choose to enforce or display required disclaimers).
Implementation / Enforcement
- The statutory text sets a disclosure duty but does not specify enforcement mechanisms, penalties, recordkeeping, or administrative oversight (no civil/ criminal penalties or agency enforcement language included in the enacted text).
- “Prominently” is not further defined (format, size, placement, or required duration are unspecified), which could affect compliance practices and platform implementation.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Promotes voter awareness by flagging AI-generated impersonations in political messaging.
- Campaigns and vendors will need processes to identify when AI content triggers the disclosure and to add the required statement — modest compliance costs may result.
- Ambiguities (e.g., definition of “prominent,” burden of proof that content “impersonates” a human, enforcement) could lead to questions about practical application and legal interpretation.
Note
- This summary covers the North Dakota enactment titled HB 1167 (creation of a new section in chapter 16.1‑10 N.D.C.C.). Other unrelated bills with the same number exist in other jurisdictions; those are not addressed here.
