Three Commissioner of Political Practices complaints filed against Accountability in State Government, a conservative political action committee, over mailers that used generative artificial intelligence will be dismissed, according to court records from an accompanying lawsuit in federal district court.

Rep. Eric Albus, a Hi-Line Republican, former legislator Jennifer Carlson, running for a state House seat in the Bozeman area, and Rep. Llew Jones, running for state senate, filed the complaints earlier this year. 

The PAC, which lists Dan Bartel, a former Republican legislator, as its treasurer, ran mailers depicting those candidates with Pride flags and buttons. It accused Albus and Carlson of using taxpayer money for a “woke agenda.”

The COPP complaint is not yet published on the office’s website, but Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus, in court documents, said the mailers were protected under satire laws. Montana does not require satire be marked on political mailers.

“I do find dismissal at this stage appropriate because further factual development is not necessary to determine that the election materials provided fall under the exemption for satire or parody,” Gallus wrote in court documents, adding those complaints were filed under the new deepfake law, Senate Bill 25. Photos, videos and soundbites can all be faked using AI-assisted technology, and the law sought to prohibit that being done to represent candidates during the 60 days leading up to an election.

Following the COPP complaints, Bartel filed a lawsuit in federal court over SB 25, which established the deepfake law, alleging it violates free speech protections in the U.S. Constitution.

“So far, three legislators have filed campaign complaints under a new Montana statute that patently violates the First Amendment and includes penalties of civil fines and potential prosecution with up to two years in state prison,” the lawsuit says.

The complaint says the law serves to “chill, suppress, and punish protected political speech,” and that his rights have been violated because of the law.

That bill added definitions surrounding deepfakes to state law and disallows deepfakes of candidates within 60 days of an election. Sen. Janet Ellis, a Helena Democrat, ran the bill, and Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, signed it. The bill was not particularly controversial, passing by wide margins in both legislative bodies.

Ellis on Monday said the law is about fairness for voters.

“AI is becoming more and more realistic, and it’s harder and harder for people to determine what is real and what is not,” she said.

There was a workaround built into the bill — campaigns and organizations that support their candidates can use AI generated content, but have to disclose it.

Even so, the suit takes issue with that part of the law as well.

“This compelled-speech remedy is itself constitutionally infirm, as it forces political speakers to brand their own constitutionally protected communications as false and deceptive as the price of speaking at all,” the suit reads.

The impact of AI-generated content before voters has become a growing concern in the state and around the country. Montana lawmakers worried that voters may not be able to distinguish between actual images and those created by AI.

Initial arguments challenging SB 25 were heard in Helena Federal District Court before Judge Susan Watters on Aug. 21. Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute attorney Adam Schulman, who along with Montana attorney Matthew Monforton are representing Bartel in the case, said they felt confident following those proceedings.

A decision hasn’t been made yet, Schulman said, but said the judge indicated she’ll have a ruling in September.

“At the hearing, the judge asked incisive questions and was clearly engaged with the case,” Schulman said in an email. “We’re optimistic about seeing a good result.”