Judge blocks AI ad law against Montana PAC

What the judge ordered

A federal judge has barred Montana’s commissioner of political practices and attorney general from enforcing the state’s AI campaign-ad restrictions against former Republican legislator Dan Bartel and the Accountability in State Government PAC. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters issued the order after finding that the plaintiffs faced a credible threat of enforcement that raised First Amendment concerns.

Watters pointed to private complaints, a warning letter from Political Practices Commissioner Chris Gallus and the state’s failure to rule out enforcement. The order applies to Bartel and ASG PAC and allows them to proceed with planned general-election advertising.

ASG PAC indicated it would begin running ads against Democratic legislator Mary Ann Dunwell. A court filing includes an unreleased mailer depicting Dunwell as a country-western pickpocket taking a wallet from a cowboy.

How the law works

Montana law bars a person from paying for or sponsoring a campaign ad when the person knows or should know it uses a deepfake image or recording of a candidate or political party within 60 days before voting begins. The communication is allowed if it carries a clear disclosure that AI significantly altered the content and that it falsely appears authentic or truthful.

The dispute followed AI-generated primary-election mailers aimed at Republican candidates, including Jennifer Carlson of Manhattan. Carlson filed a complaint with the commissioner. Gallus testified in court that those mailers were satire and therefore exempt from the law, but Watters found the earlier enforcement steps still created a credible concern.

Bartel and ASG PAC argued that their ads were not deepfakes and that the required label burdened protected speech. Their attorney, Matt Monforton, described the case as a First Amendment challenge. Montana Free Press reported the ruling and details from the court file.