Meta announces disclosure rules for AI-altered ads

AI ads on Meta: Meta Platforms disclosed its plans to implement mandatory disclosures for political, social, or election-related advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that are created or altered using artificial intelligence (AI) or digital methods, with the changes set to take effect in 2024.

As the second-largest platform for digital advertising worldwide, Meta outlined in a blog post that advertisers will be required to reveal if their modified or created ads depict real individuals as saying or doing things they did not, or if they generate digital representations of non-existent people.

Additionally, Meta will ask advertisers to disclose if such ads portray events that never occurred, manipulate footage of real events, or depict actual events without employing authentic images, videos, or audio recordings of those events.

These policy updates follow Meta's earlier decision to restrict political advertisers from using generative AI ad tools. Notably, the company had recently expanded advertisers' access to AI-driven advertising tools capable of swiftly generating background images, adjusting visuals, and creating various ad copy versions in response to text prompts.

Google, the leading player in digital advertising, introduced similar image-customising generative AI ad tools last week and announced plans to maintain a politics-free approach by blocking a set of "political keywords" from serving as prompts.

Concerns among US lawmakers have arisen due to the use of AI technology to produce misleading content featuring political candidates, with the advent of accessible "generative AI" tools facilitating the creation of convincing deepfakes.

Meta had already taken measures to prevent its user-facing Meta AI virtual assistant from generating lifelike images of public figures. Nick Clegg, the company's top policy executive, underlined the need to revise rules regarding the use of generative AI in political advertising.

However, Meta's new policy will not mandate disclosures for digital content modifications deemed "inconsequential or immaterial to the claim, assertion, or issue raised in the ad." Such modifications include image size adjustments, cropping, colour correction, and image sharpening.

(With Reuters inputs)