| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to criminal offenses for creating and distributing certain |
|
|
misleading images and videos; creating a criminal offense. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 255.004, Election Code, |
|
|
is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 255.004. FALSE IMAGES, VIDEOS, AND SOURCES [TRUE |
|
|
SOURCE] OF COMMUNICATION. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 255.004, Election Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections (d-1) |
|
|
and (d-2) to read as follows: |
|
|
(c) An offense under Subsection (a), (b), or (d) [this |
|
|
section] is a Class A misdemeanor. An offense under Subsection |
|
|
(d-1) is a Class B misdemeanor. |
|
|
(d) A person commits an offense if the person, with the |
|
|
intent to deceive and with the intent to injure a candidate or |
|
|
influence the result of an election: |
|
|
(1) creates or causes to be created a deep fake video; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(2) publishes, distributes, or causes [the deep fake |
|
|
video] to be published or distributed the deep fake video [within 30 |
|
|
days of an election]. |
|
|
(d-1) A person commits an offense if the person, with the |
|
|
intent to deceive and influence the result of an election: |
|
|
(1) creates or causes to be created an altered image; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(2) publishes, distributes, or causes to be published |
|
|
or distributed the altered image. |
|
|
(d-2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for an |
|
|
offense under Subsection (d-1) if the person includes on the image a |
|
|
clear label stating that the image is altered. |
|
|
(e) In this section:[,] |
|
|
(1) "Altered image" means an image that has been |
|
|
manipulated to change the physical appearance of an individual or |
|
|
depict an individual performing an action that did not occur. The |
|
|
term does not include: |
|
|
(A) a cartoon, caricature, or any other image |
|
|
that a reasonable viewer would understand to be a satirical |
|
|
representation of the individual; or |
|
|
(B) an image altered only to change the |
|
|
saturation, brightness, contrast, color, or any other superficial |
|
|
quality of the image. |
|
|
(2) "Deep ["deep] fake video" means a video[, created |
|
|
with the intent to deceive,] that appears to depict a real person |
|
|
performing an action that did not occur in reality. |
|
|
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
|
|
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
|
|
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
|
|
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
|
|
before that date. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |