President of Latvia submits legislative initiative regarding the use of artificial intelligence systems in pre-election campaigning

On 20 February, the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs signed and sent the proposed "Amendments to the Law on Pre-election Campaigning" to the Presidium of the Saeima for consideration.

In a letter addressed to the Presidium of the Saeima, the President of Latvia stressed the importance of upholding the principles of democracy and the rule of law by restricting the dissemination of false information in pre-election campaign materials, especially as the communication of political organisations (parties) with the public, including political campaigning, is partly financed by state budget funds. For these reasons, the President of Latvia emphasizes the need for the Law on Pre-election Campaigning to ensure that the public has the right to receive not only comprehensive but also truthful information during the pre-election campaigning.

It must be ensured that the use of artificial intelligence systems does not compromise the right of voters to participate in free and fair elections. As already observed in other regions of the world, artificial intelligence systems have been employed to interfere with the electoral process and disseminate false information, thereby jeopardizing the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental human rights. The phenomenon of using artificial intelligence systems to influence elections has not yet been extensively studied on a global scale, and there is currently no relevant overarching regulatory framework for it. However, there is undeniable evidence of bad faith use of such artificial intelligence systems in several recent elections, including those in Slovakia, Argentina, and Poland.

Every voter in Latvia has the right to know which of the information available to voters constitutes campaign material. Transparency must be a key principle of the pre-election process, and voters must be provided with accurate guidance when artificial intelligence systems have been utilised in the creation of election material or for other electioneering purposes. This measure seeks to ensure that voters are informed about whether they are interacting with a human or an artificial intelligence system.

"I propose a regulatory framework under which the creator of pre-election campaign content is required to explicitly declare to voters that artificial intelligence systems are being used, regardless of the form of pre-election content. It is also necessary to grant the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau the authority to prohibit further pre-election campaigning in cases where the undeclared use of artificial intelligence systems or materials is detected during the pre-election campaign or the period of prohibition of placement of pre-election campaign materials," the letter of the President of Latvia to the Presidium of the Saeima reads.