California attorney general warns tech platforms to look out for voter deception ahead of election

California attorney general warns tech platforms to look out for voter deception ahead of election


California Attorney General Rob Bonta discusses Michelle Mack’s case in an interview on Feb. 16, 2024.

CNBC

California Attorney General Rob Bonta cautioned executives at social media and other tech companies to work harder to protect voters from “deception, intimidation, and dissuasion,” ahead of the November election.

“Millions of Californians rely on social media and artificial intelligence services to obtain news and information about upcoming elections, and it is paramount that the platforms, products, and services offered by your companies not be misused to deceive voters about their constitutional right to vote,” Bonta wrote in a letter Wednesday to the CEOs of Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Reddit, TikTok, X and YouTube.

The letter reviewed sections of California law that prohibit interference with voting rights by misleading people about voting place and time and by using intimidation tactics.

California state law also “generally prohibits the distribution, within 60 days of an election, and with actual malice, of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate appearing on the ballot in the election with the intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate,” Bonta wrote.

The letter follows pop icon Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday night following the debate. Swift criticized those who had circulated AI-generated images falsely stating that she had endorsed Donald Trump.

Trump had shared a series of those images on his Truth Social platform. Separately, X owner Elon Musk recently shared an AI-generated image portraying Harris dressed as a communist dictator.

“Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one,” Musk, who has endorsed Trump, wrote in a post on X on Sept. 2 “Can you believe she wears that outfit!?”

Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s Dall-E and Chat GPT, Microsoft copilot and Grok, made by Musk’s xAI, allow users to rapidly generate images and text in response to prompts or questions. In August, an updated version of xAI’s product, Grok-2, appeared to carry few limitations on creating fake images of political figures.

WATCH: The generative AI trade

The generative AI trade: Markets are turning sour on chips



Source

CNBC Daily Open: Capex is the number to look at amid Big Tech earnings
Technology

CNBC Daily Open: Capex is the number to look at amid Big Tech earnings

Signage at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Benjamin Fanjoy | Bloomberg | Getty Images The news is coming in fast and thick. Strap in. First, interest rates. The U.S. Federal Reserve lowered rates by 25 basis points, as expected by traders. But Chair Jerome Powell cautioned that another […]

Read More
Wall Street hates Meta’s AI spending guidance raise. We don’t
Technology

Wall Street hates Meta’s AI spending guidance raise. We don’t

Meta Platforms shares were taking a beating in extended hours trading on Wednesday after management raised its expense guidance and took a massive tax charge. Revenue in the three months ended Sept. 30 climbed 26% year over year to $51.24 billion, easily outpacing the consensus estimate of $48.14 billion, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share […]

Read More
Fund managers reveal their bubble recipes and what to watch for as AI stocks soar
Technology

Fund managers reveal their bubble recipes and what to watch for as AI stocks soar

AI is tipped to transform the economy and eventually evolve into a $4.8 trillion market, but the question on everyone’s lips right now is: is the market in a bubble? Everyone from tech CEOs to asset managers and central bankers is worried the promise of AI could quickly turn sour if it doesn’t live up […]

Read More