HR 9985
AI Ads Act
TL;DR
Rep. Ro Khanna's AI Ads Act would require political ads that use AI-generated content (deepfakes, synthetic voices, AI-manipulated images of candidates) to carry clear disclaimers. It targets deceptive AI use in federal campaign advertising, not commercial advertising.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Political advertising agencies and media buyers would need to add visible disclaimers on any campaign ad using AI-generated or AI-altered content.
Ad tech platforms (Meta, Google, YouTube, TikTok) that accept political ads would likely need new intake workflows to verify AI disclosure compliance.
Generative AI vendors serving political clients (image, voice, video synthesis tools) could see increased demand for provenance and watermarking features.
Broadcasters and streaming platforms carrying political spots would need review processes to catch undisclosed AI content before airing.
Commercial advertisers are not directly covered, but the disclosure standard could set a template for future FTC action on commercial deepfake ads.
Bill sits in the House Committee on House Administration with no hearing scheduled; passage odds are low in the current session but the concept has bipartisan interest.
No specific penalty amounts or effective dates are laid out in the referred version, so enforcement teeth remain unclear.
What Should You Do
If you run a political ad agency or ad tech platform, draft an internal AI disclosure policy now so you are ready if this or a similar state law passes (several states already have versions).
Ask your creative and compliance teams to inventory which vendors and tools in your ad production pipeline use generative AI, and whether outputs carry detectable watermarks.
Brief your government affairs or legal team on the House Administration Committee docket and set an alert for any markup or hearing on HR 9985.
If you sell generative AI tools, evaluate adding provenance metadata (C2PA standards) as a product feature to attract political and media buyers preparing for disclosure rules.
Review your platform's political ad policies against the bill text to identify gaps before regulators or reporters do.
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
committee
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
July 30, 2026
committee
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
July 30, 2026