Commerce Dept. launches AI literacy campaign to protect consumers from deepfakes and scams
S. 1699 — Artificial Intelligence Public Awareness and Education Campaign Act · Filed by Todd Young (R-IN) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced May 8, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Department of Commerce to launch a five-year public education campaign about artificial intelligence—what it is, where it appears in daily life, how to spot deepfakes and AI-generated content, and how to protect yourself from AI-enabled scams. The campaign will include TV, radio, and online ads in multiple languages, with special outreach to seniors and small business owners, and will be evaluated annually on reach, engagement, and public understanding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is establishing a federally coordinated public awareness campaign to improve consumer understanding of AI capabilities, limitations, and risks—a straightforward civic literacy initiative with no hidden commercial or regulatory mechanism.
What the text implies
- Campaign messaging and framing will be shaped by Commerce Department and NIST, potentially reflecting industry-friendly perspectives on AI capabilities and risks rather than independent consumer advocacy.
- No enforcement mechanism or regulatory teeth: the campaign educates but does not restrict AI practices, leaving actual consumer protection to existing laws and agencies.
- Annual updates tied to 'new innovations' may create pressure to promote emerging AI products as beneficial, blurring the line between education and industry marketing.
- Sunset clause (5 years) means sustained public education depends on reauthorization; if not renewed, institutional knowledge and campaign infrastructure disappear.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens gain practical literacy about AI risks (fraud, deepfakes, data privacy) and capabilities, enabling more informed consumer choices. The campaign is free, transparent, and designed to protect vulnerable populations (seniors, small businesses). No direct costs to the public are imposed; the campaign is funded within existing agency budgets.
Named in the bill
Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Small Business Administration (SBA), Consumer Product Safety Commission, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Where it stands
6 cosponsors: 4 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
- May 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- May 8, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $12,290,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 72 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Todd Young, the sponsor, reported $704,220 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Google Client Services LLC — $6,920,000 on 2 filings
- AARP — $5,300,000 on 1 filing
- Southern California Public Power Authority (scppa) — $70,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jul 2, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Commerce Dept. launches AI literacy campaign to protect consumers from deepfakes and scams” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s1699 Report an error
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