Source: Montana Free Press

U.S. District of Montana Judge Susan Watters issued an order blocking Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices and the attorney general from enforcing the state’s law regulating AI-generated campaign ads, clearing the way for former Republican legislator Dan Bartel and the Accountability in State Government PAC (ASG) to run AI-based general-election advertising. The injunction responded to what Watters described as a credible threat of enforcement rooted in multiple private complaints, a warning letter from Commissioner Chris Gallus, and the absence of governmental disavowal; the order was issued in the week of 18 September 2026 in proceedings before the U.S. District Court in Montana.

Montana’s statute bars paying for or sponsoring production, creation, or distribution of a campaign ad that one knows, or should have known, is a “deepfake” of a candidate or political party within 60 days of the start of voting, while permitting such communications if they include a clear disclosure that AI editing makes the content appear authentic. Plaintiffs Bartel and ASG argued their materials do not meet the law’s “deepfake” definition, cited past examples of AI-created impersonations, and contended the disclosure requirement is prejudicial; Commissioner Gallus testified that certain prior mailers were satire, a claimed exemption. Attorney Matt Monforton framed the suit as a First Amendment defense by his clients.