Opened the debate
Lambie argued that artificial intelligence technologies, including deepfakes and voice cloning, were being exploited to spread disinformation and facilitate fraud. Lambie cited personal experiences with fake videos circulating on social media, noting that platforms like Meta failed to remove content that breached community standards. The senator contended that while consumer advertising is regulated, political advertising remains exempt from truthfulness requirements, undermining public trust. Lambie referenced Professor Terry Flew’s recommendation to ban AI-generated deepfakes in election campaigns and pointed to existing truth-in-advertising laws in South Australia and the ACT as models for federal reform. Lambie expressed concern that the lack of regulation endangered the safety of parliamentary staff and called for urgent government action to establish guardrails against malicious AI use.