Starting next Friday (16), advertisements for the October municipal elections will be released, in what should be the first election in Brazil directly impacted by new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, those capable of producing synthetic images and sounds very close to real ones. Advertisements will be available until September 30.
Given the lack of laws on AI in the country, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) decided to move forward and approve rules to regulate the use of this type of technology in electoral propaganda. According to the approved rules, the use of “synthetic multimedia content” generated by AI must always be accompanied by a warning about its use, regardless of the type of electoral propaganda.
In radio ads, for example, if there are sounds created by AI, the listener must be warned before the ad goes on air. Static images require a watermark, while audiovisual material must provide advance warning and display the watermark. In printed material, the warning must appear on each page that contains images generated by AI.
In case of non-compliance, any advertisement may be removed from circulation, either by court order or even on the initiative of the communication service providers themselves, as provided for in the electoral resolution that deals with the issue.
As if the ban on disinformation in general were not enough, one of the articles of the resolution explicitly prohibits deep fake, prohibiting “the use, to harm or favor a candidacy, of synthetic content in audio, video format or a combination of both, which has been generated or manipulated digitally, even with authorization, to create, replace or alter the image or voice of a living, deceased or fictitious person”.
In this case, the consequences for non-compliance are more serious, and may result in the cancellation of the candidate’s registration or even possible mandate. An investigation for electoral crime may also be opened. Anyone who discloses facts that they know to be untrue about parties or candidates, and that are capable of influencing the electorate, for example, may be subject to a sentence of 2 months to 1 year in prison.
When it comes to disinformation, the Electoral Court has police powers, that is, it can order the removal of the material in question ex officio, without being provoked. The removal order may be issued within less than 24 hours if the case is serious.
Orders may be directed to social media platforms, for example, which are required to comply with them through identified access to the systems, which must be communicated to the Electoral Court.
All details of the rules on electoral propaganda can be found in resolution published on the TSE portal.
General rules
Furthermore, the same rules apply to advertisements made with AI that apply to other types of material – everything must always be accompanied by the party caption and be produced in Portuguese.
An old rule is that no electoral propaganda can “use advertising means intended to artificially create mental, emotional or passionate states in public opinion”. Anonymity is also prohibited.
In addition to spreading misinformation, it is also prohibited to convey prejudices based on origin, ethnicity, race, sex, color, age, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as any form of discrimination; to depreciate the status of women or encourage their discrimination; to convey offensive content that constitutes slander, defamation or insult; among others.
In the case of street campaigns, it is forbidden to “disturb the public peace”, whether with “noise or abuse of sound instruments or acoustic signals, including those caused by fireworks”.
As in previous elections, billboards, telemarketing and rallies remain prohibited, as does the use of devices that resemble electronic ballot boxes as a means of electoral propaganda.
Walks, parades and motorcades are permitted as long as they take place between 8am and 10pm and up until the day before the election. Such events may use sound trucks or mini electric trios, as well as meetings and rallies. There is no need for police authorization, but security authorities must be notified at least 24 hours in advance of the campaign event.
The electoral rules also detail the maximum power that each of these sound equipments must have – 10,000W for sound cars, 20,000W for mini-trios and above that for electric trios, permitted only at rallies. Even so, such tools can only be used in the context of an electoral event, never in isolation.
Another long-standing prohibition is the production or distribution directly to voters of gifts with candidate propaganda, such as keychains, caps, pens or t-shirts.
These and other authorizations and prohibitions on electoral propaganda can be found in a booklet produced by the Regional Electoral Court of Pernambuco (TRE-PE).
Complaints
Anyone who notices any irregularity can report it to the Electoral Court through the Pardal app, available for cell phones with Android or iOS operating systems.
The TSE also provides the Electoral Disinformation Alert System (Siade)which can be triggered in cases of disinformation, threats and incitement to violence, disruption or threat to the Democratic Rule of Law, irregularities in the use of AI, hateful behavior or speech and receipt of irregular messages.
