AI生成博索纳罗拉票视频遭投诉，在巴中企需关注选举合规红线

Bolsonaro avatar shown at Liberal Party national convention in São Paulo Maria Isabel Oliveira/O Globo The Workers’ Party and the Brazil of Hope federation, which brings together the PT, Communist Party of Brazil and Green Party, filed complaints with the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court on Sunday (26) over the use of an artificial intelligence-generated video depicting former President Jair Bolsonaro at the event that formally launched his son Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential candidacy in São Paulo. Legal experts say the video may have violated electoral rules banning deepfakes, although they disagree on whether it also breached restrictions imposed on Jair Bolsonaro as part of his house arrest. Brazil summons Argentine envoy after Milei insults Lula Flávio Bolsonaro’s voting claims trigger criticism, legal challenge Centrist alliance leans toward neutrality, isolating Flávio Bolsonaro The 46-second video was shown at Saturday’s convention. In it, the simulated Bolsonaro speaks in the first person and initially warns viewers that the footage was generated by AI. The video then criticizes restrictions imposed on the former president and expresses support for Flávio Bolsonaro. Supreme Court challenge At the Supreme Court, the Workers’ Party (PT) filed a petition as part of proceedings involving the enforcement of Jair Bolsonaro’s sentence. The party argued that showing the video violated an explicit order from Justice Alexandre de Moraes barring the former president from disseminating political or electoral messages, including through third parties, “regardless of the means used.” Jair Bolsonaro is serving a final sentence, meaning there are no further avenues for appeal. His political rights have also been suspended as a result of his conviction. Justice Moraes has ruled that the former president cannot make political statements while serving his sentence. The PT argued that Saturday’s episode, which was also broadcast live on YouTube, amounted to a “deliberate and now technologically sophisticated repetition of the same pattern of conduct that this court recognized and sanctioned less than ten days ago.” Electoral complaint In its filing with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), the party said the convention included an explicit appeal for votes and the improper use of artificial intelligence. It is seeking a fine against Flávio’s campaign and the removal of the video from social media. “Electoral law prohibits any type of deepfake in political or electoral content, and even though the ban is expressly established by the TSE, the PL broadcast a synthetic video reproducing Jair Bolsonaro’s face and voice, with an appeal for votes for Flávio Bolsonaro, and also disseminated it online,” the party said. Fernando Neisser, an election law professor at Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, said the use of such technology has been prohibited since 2024. The ban is set out in paragraph 1 of Article 9-C of TSE Resolution 23,610/2019, which was amended that year ahead of Brazil’s municipal elections. The current rule expressly prohibits synthetic audio or video that digitally creates, replaces or alters a person’s image or voice when used to favor or harm a candidacy, even when the person portrayed has authorized it. “It is prohibited to use, to harm or favor a candidacy, synthetic content in audio, video or a combination of both that has been digitally generated or manipulated, even with authorization, to create, replace or alter the image or voice of a living, deceased or fictional person (deepfake),” the resolution says. Neisser said the disclosure at the start of the video that it had been generated by AI does not make its use permissible. The TSE requires some AI-generated content to be labeled, but that requirement does not override the ban on deepfakes. “There are permitted uses, as long as they are labeled, and uses that are absolutely prohibited, even with a label. Creating a deepfake image or video is absolutely prohibited. Labeling it does not solve the problem,” Neisser said. He believes the violation could provide grounds for the candidacy to be revoked. Legal disagreement Election lawyer Alberto Rollo takes a different view. He said there was no electoral violation because the event took place outside the official campaign period, which begins on August 16. Rollo also said the disclosure at the beginning of the video that it had been generated using AI showed the campaign had exercised “legal caution.” “The voter cannot be deceived. And that was done yesterday [Saturday]; nobody was deceived,” he said. Valor has learned that the prevailing view within the TSE has been that, once the official campaign period begins on August 16, a candidate could use an AI-generated video of themselves asking for votes as long as the material is clearly identified as artificial intelligence. In other circumstances, however, the electoral courts have taken the position that AI cannot be used to generate speeches or statements attributed to other people, even when those individuals authorize the use of their image. Early campaigning Another issue under debate is whether the video amounted to premature electoral campaigning. The TSE has held that party conventions used to launch candidacies cannot include explicit appeals for votes or other campaign activities directed at the broader public before the official campaign period begins. When appeals for votes made during conventions extend beyond the party setting, they can be classified as premature campaigning and result in fines. In 2024, for example, the TSE upheld a decision by Maranhão’s Regional Electoral Court against a pre-candidate for mayor of Afonso Cunha, in Maranhão state. He had organized a motorcade immediately after the convention that confirmed his candidacy in the 2020 elections. Jair Bolsonaro restrictions Legal experts also disagree on whether the AI video was an attempt to circumvent restrictions stemming from Jair Bolsonaro’s house arrest and conviction. Election law attorney and researcher Kaleo Guaraty said there was a risk that the Supreme Court’s restrictions had been breached, although “that depends on proving that he [Jair Bolsonaro] knew about or consented to the production.” Rollo compared the AI avatar to the use of a Bolsonaro doll. In his view, the video was similar because viewers were explicitly told that the image was not the real Jair Bolsonaro. Neisser disagrees. He said the video may also violate Article 337 of Brazil’s Electoral Code, which prohibits citizens who do not have full political rights from participating in party activities. Jair Bolsonaro’s political rights were suspended after his conviction in the coup-plot case became final. “There was a clear attempt to circumvent this rule, which prevents a person with a final criminal conviction from participating in the country’s political life while serving their sentence, through the use of artificial intelligence,” Neisser said. Flávio Bolsonaro’s pre-campaign did not respond to requests for comment before publication.