Independents have urged the government to act immediately on deepfakes and disinformation as the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC ) issues a warning about AI and foreign interference in the upcoming election.
David Pocock and Kate Chaney have written to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the special minister of state, Don Farrell, calling for “truth in political advertising” reform.
The letter, seen by the Guardian, criticises Labor for excluding the crossbench on negotiations to cap political donations. That bill was being negotiated between Labor and the Coalition, but was pulled by the government in the final sitting days of 2024.
While Albanese had then committed to “engage with the crossbench”, Pocock and Chaney said they are yet to be approached. They fear Labor has no plan to progress political advertising reforms.
Pocock told Guardian Australia he was “disappointed” that the truth in political advertising legislation “seemed to be shelved” after being introduced to parliament in November 2024.
“They [Labor] want to act like they are actually doing something but they don’t actually want to do something,” he said.
“We know that both major parties like to use lies and misinformation and scare campaigns.”
In September Pocock illustrated the risk AI posed to democracy by fabricating a video of Albanese announcing a complete ban on gambling advertising.
Farrell has previously said: “We have to find a way where Australians can have some protection from deliberately false information and content.”
As the election looms, putting in place a system to monitor and prosecute misinformation and AI used in political campaigns becomes more difficult.
Chaney said it was possible time has run out for the coming election, but said the laws should still be passed as a matter of urgency.
“I think there is a huge risk to the country.”
Pocock thinks said it was still possible for legislation to be passed in the February sitting period and be implemented soon after.
“If there’s a political will, you see things happening in parliament in a matter of days,” he said.
Under the bill, the AEC would be responsible for monitoring inaccurate or misleading material, in line with similar laws in South Australia since 1985.
The AEC said in a statement it would “be ready to implement it [the legislation] if and when we’re required to do so.”
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This week the AEC issued fresh warnings for politicians and voters on the threats of foreign interference and AI in the upcoming election.
“Foreign interference is a more prolific threat than ever before”, it said, insisting that while interference efforts are common, successful attempts are not.
Recent overseas elections, including India, have seen widespread instances of AI generated content and misinformation and disinformation spread across social media.
The AEC’s electoral integrity assurance taskforce has released information for candidates on the warning signs for interference, as well as preventing cybersecurity breaches, and for voters on watching out for misinformation and disinformation.
The commission is also concerned about generative AI. It warned the Senate in May it expects AI-generated misinformation at the next election, but does not have the tools to detect or deter it.
The AEC has warned voters will begin to see more disinformation and deepfake videos on social media and online.
It also said that while foreign actors use disinformation to interfere with Australia’s electoral processes, most disinformation “does not involve a foreign power”.
Going into the election campaign, the AEC taskforce urged voters to “think deeply” about the content they consume and consider the source of information.
Greens senator David Shoebridge said the country is “sleepwalking” without legislative protection and feared “generative AI may well have a significant impact on the outcome of the next election”.
“It’s currently lawful to create a video using generative AI of a politician or public figure doing something or making any claim you want them to, as long as it contains an electoral authorisation.”
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