Rhode Island § 17-30-2 - Deceptive and Fraudulent Synthetic Media in Election Communications

§ 17-30-2. Right of action.

(a) A candidate whose appearance, actions, or speech are depicted through the use of synthetic media in violation of § 17-30-1 may seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a candidate, authorized candidate campaign committee, political action committee, political party committee, or person or entity making an independent expenditure as defined in § 17-25-3 prohibiting the distribution of audio or visual synthetic media in violation of this chapter.

(b) A candidate whose appearance, actions, or speech are depicted using synthetic media may also bring an action for general or special damages against a candidate, authorized candidate campaign committee, political action committee, political party committee, or person or entity making an independent expenditure as defined in § 17-25-3 that generated the synthetic media. The court may also award a prevailing party reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. This subsection shall not be construed to limit or preclude a plaintiff from recovering under any other available remedy.

(c) In any civil action alleging a violation of this chapter, the plaintiff shall bear the burden of establishing the violation through clear and convincing evidence.