'Deepfake Election Campaign' Ban Law Passes Subcommittee of Political Reform Special Committee

Deepfake Election Campaigns... Prohibited 90 Days Before Election
National Assembly Political Reform Special Committee's Bill Subcommittee Prepares 'Committee Alternative'
Kim Young-bae "Further Discussion Needed on National Referendum Act Amendment"

The Special Committee on Political Reform of the National Assembly's Bill Subcommittee has unanimously approved a revision to the Public Official Election Act that completely bans election campaigning using 'deepfake' technology starting 90 days before an election. Although there were initially sharp disagreements over the scope of technology use, a compromise was reached to allow the use of deepfake technology during normal times with mandatory labeling, but to suspend its use from the point when election reporting meetings are prohibited ahead of elections. If the bill passes the plenary session of the National Assembly, election campaigning using promotional videos created with deepfake technology will be fully banned starting January 11 next year, 90 days before the upcoming general election.

Kim Young-bae, the Democratic Party's floor leader on the Special Committee on Political Reform, told reporters after the first Bill Review Subcommittee meeting on the afternoon of the 4th at the National Assembly, "We have reached a bipartisan agreement on the provisions related to allowing and regulating deepfake election campaigning (the amendment to the Public Official Election Act)," adding, "The agreement will be submitted to the plenary session tomorrow (the 5th)." He continued, "I thought there would be more controversy, but we decided to allow deepfake technology during normal times and to completely ban election campaign videos made with deepfake technology starting 90 days before the election, that is, from the point when election reporting meetings are prohibited."

On the 4th, Kim Young-bae, the subcommittee chairman, is conducting a meeting at the 1st Subcommittee on Bill Review of the Special Committee on Political Reform at the National Assembly.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim explained, "During normal times, it will be mandatory to label content as 'deepfake,' and failure to do so will result in fines," adding, "Even if labeled as deepfake, if the content contains false information, it will be punished as dissemination of false information, and if someone creates a deepfake video with false information without labeling it, harsher penalties will be applied." He further noted, "We referred to cases such as California, USA, which bans the use of deepfake technology 60 days before elections, and Texas, which bans it 30 days before, and we will continue to consider social opinions including those from the industry."

Earlier, on the 24th of last month, the ruling and opposition parties discussed the amendment to the Public Official Election Act regulating election campaigning using deepfake technology at the Bill Review Subcommittee but failed to narrow their differences. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, there were sharp disagreements over whether it is appropriate to block election campaigning using AI technology, and how to regulate and punish the production and dissemination of false information aimed at influencing election outcomes. Although the possibility of 'discarding' the bill was even mentioned, a dramatic bipartisan agreement was reached at the subcommittee meeting that day.

Kim said, "Based on the next general election, the ban will start on January 11, which is 90 days before the election," adding, "From that point on, no one, including the candidates themselves, will be allowed to create deepfake videos for election campaigning purposes." When asked how it will be determined whether the video content constitutes election campaigning, he replied, "It will be judged according to the criteria currently used by the National Election Commission to determine whether something is election campaigning," and added, "If a report is filed that a deepfake video is influencing the election, it will be reviewed according to the law."

On the 4th, Kim Young-bae, the subcommittee chairman, is conducting a meeting at the 1st Subcommittee on Bill Examination of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the Special Committee on Political Reform also held a legislative hearing on the full revision of the National Referendum Act that day but postponed the review to the next subcommittee meeting. Kim said, "Since the National Referendum Act was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2014 and has not been discussed even once in the past 10 years, and since no national referendum has been held since 1987, a thorough discussion is necessary."

He added, "Given the nature of our politics, there is a clear risk that national referendums on important state policies or constitutional amendments could be distorted into political strife or even harm national unity," and said, "Experts have pointed out the need for detailed examination of the relationship between 'campaigning' guaranteed under the National Referendum Act and 'election campaigning' under the Public Official Election Act, so we decided to conduct further review before the next meeting."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.