HB 366 – Criminalizes political memes

HB 366 criminalizes the publication of political ads that use AI-generated or altered media unless those ads include a government-prescribed disclaimer. While framed as a transparency measure, the bill introduces broad new liabilities and mandates on political speech, empowering the Texas Ethics Commission to dictate formatting requirements. This opens the door to regulatory overreach and burdens smaller political actors with compliance costs. The vague standard of what “did not occur in reality” leaves room for subjective enforcement, potentially chilling satire, parody, or legitimate commentary. Creating a Class A misdemeanor for campaign speech represents a severe repression of constitutionally protected speech. This bill adds unnecessary government regulation, expands bureaucratic authority, and risks weaponizing the state against political dissent. It does little to address voter fraud or election integrity while increasing enforcement costs and litigation risks.