The approved amendments require political organisations, parliamentary candidates and any other campaigners to inform the public if artificial intelligence is used in pre-election campaigning. This means that video advertisements and all other pre-election campaign materials published on the internet and created with the help of artificial intelligence will have to contain a clear and unambiguous indication that the material was created with the help of artificial intelligence tools. This condition will apply to all paid-for campaign materials. It will not apply to editing and production of texts.
KNAB indicates that the most typical manipulation during the pre-election campaign period could involve synthesising the voices of parliamentary candidates or including their portraits in images or videos, simulating conversations or situations that do not correspond to the truth. Such materials must contain an indication of the use of an artificial intelligence system.
In addition, if the campaigner does not comply with the newly introduced condition, KNAB will be entitled to decide to prohibit further placement and distribution of the AI-assisted campaign materials. Failure to do so will be punishable by an administrative penalty of a warning or a fine of up to EUR 700 for a natural person. Legal persons, including political parties, can be fined up to EUR 7,100. In order to detect non-compliance with the new requirement, KNAB will cooperate with experts and other specialists in the field of artificial intelligence. KNAB will also publish information on its website about all cases of non-compliance with this requirement.
The changes also stipulate that the use of fake or anonymous social network accounts created by automated systems for any pre-election campaign activities in social networks or elsewhere on the internet will henceforth be prohibited. KNAB will cooperate with other responsible institutions, including primarily the State Police, in identifying them.
In the event KNAB detects the use of fake or anonymous social network accounts in pre-election campaigning, the affected person or KNAB will be able to apply to the operator of the social media platform in question with a demand to suspend the specific pre-election campaign activities. If it fails to cooperate, KNAB will be entitled to inform the Consumer Rights Protection Centre, which is empowered to refer such matters to the European Commission. The European Commission has the legal right to fine a social media platform that fails to comply with EU law.
The amendments to the Pre-election Campaign Law are aimed at ensuring that the voter receives comprehensive and reliable information during the pre-election campaign period.
In addition, KNAB informs that the next upcoming elections are the local government elections scheduled for 7 June 2025. The pre-election campaign period for these elections will start on 8 February 2025 and last until the polling day.