Michigan House Bill No. 5144

Michigan House Bill No. 5144

Summary: This bill aims to prevent the distribution of misleading media during election campaigns in the state of Michigan. It introduces provisions to prohibit the distribution of media that falsely represents an individual within 90 days before an election with the intention to harm a candidate's reputation or influence the voting behavior of electors. However, the prohibition does not apply if the media includes a disclaimer stating that the content has been manipulated and does not reflect actual speech or conduct.

Key Points:

A person is prohibited from distributing misleading media within 90 days before an election if it falsely represents an individual and intends to harm a candidate's reputation or voting prospects.
The prohibition does not apply if the media includes a disclaimer stating that it has been manipulated and does not reflect actual speech or conduct.
The disclaimer requirements vary depending on the type of media (video, audio, or image) and must be clearly visible/readable by viewers or listeners.
Violating this section is considered a crime, with penalties ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on prior convictions.
The attorney general, depicted individual, injured candidate, or voter advocacy organization can seek injunctive relief against a violator in specific Michigan courts.
If a complaint for injunctive relief is found to be frivolous, the court can dismiss it and may impose costs, attorney fees, or sanctions against the plaintiff.
For a plaintiff to be awarded permanent injunctive relief, they must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant knew the media falsely represented the depicted individual.
The court may award costs and attorney fees to a plaintiff other than the attorney general who is granted permanent injunctive relief.
Preliminary injunctive relief cannot be sought in an action described in this section.

Definitions:

Depicted individual: An individual who is falsely represented in misleading media.
Election: Includes federal, state, legislative, judicial, county, or local elections or primaries.
Materially deceptive media: Refers to any image, audio, or video that falsely depicts an individual's speech or conduct and would cause a reasonable viewer or listener to believe the depicted individual engaged in that speech or conduct. The media must be produced using artificial intelligence.

Enacting Section: This amendatory act is only effective if House Bill No. 5143 of the 102nd Legislature is passed into law.

Approved by the Governor on November 30, 2023, and filed with the Secretary of State on December 1, 2023. The effective date of this act is February 13, 2024.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Elections: Offenses