Law / United States / Massachusetts
An Act to Protect Against Election Misinformation (H.5093)
H.5093, 194th General Court (2025-2026)
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
Proposed: draft date not recorded.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- This bill is not yet law; nothing below is a current duty.
- If enacted, do not distribute deceptive audio or visual media about a candidate or an election within 90 days of that election, where the media is intended to injure a candidate's reputation, deceive a voter, disrupt the election's safety or operation, or mislead voters about voting dates, methods, deadlines, certification, or an endorsement.
- Media outlets that air or report on such content while acknowledging authenticity questions, websites, newspapers, periodicals, and satire or parody would be exempt.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
This bill has not been enacted, so read the following as what it would require rather than a current duty.
As passed by the House, it would prohibit distributing deceptive audio or visual media within 90 days of an election, covering media depicting a candidate with intent to injure their reputation or deceive a voter, media intended to disrupt the safety or regular operation of an election, and media intended to mislead voters about voting dates, methods, or deadlines, election certification, or a false endorsement.
A candidate whose voice or likeness appears in such media may seek injunctive relief or bring an action for damages and attorney's fees against the distributing party. Exemptions cover media outlets that air or report on the content while acknowledging authenticity questions, websites, newspapers, magazines and periodicals, and satire and parody. Originally filed as H.76, the House Committee on Ways and Means reported a new draft as H.5093.
The redraft passed the House 154 to 3 on February 11, 2026. It was then referred to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on February 12, 2026.
When LexLint raises it
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Read the law
official bill history, Massachusetts Legislature
House press release describing the bill's substance