Sen. Kennedy files bill in North Carolina Senate to establish digital content provenance initiative

A new bill filed by State Sen. Kennedy seeks to establish a digital content provenance initiative aimed at protecting residents from misinformation and enhancing election integrity, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 738 on March 25 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Digital Content Provenance Initiative/Funds.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill establishes the Digital Content Provenance Initiative to protect North Carolina residents from threats posed by synthetic media and AI-generated content. Effective July 1, 2025, Phase I of the initiative will be coordinated by the Department of Commerce and the Department of Information Technology. It aims to develop cryptographic authentication standards for digital content to mitigate misinformation impacting election integrity and public trust. The initiative will also explore methods to detect false attributions to government officials and agencies. It plans to align with existing content provenance standards and potentially pilot certain metadata and watermarking protocols. A Digital Content Provenance Advisory Board, comprising experts from various fields, will provide guidance on standards and privacy issues. An appropriation of $500,000 from the General Fund will support Phase I efforts, including developing a content authentication framework and increasing public awareness about synthetic content. Interim and final reports are due by December 1, 2025, and March 1, 2026, respectively.

Of the three sponsors of this bill, DeAndrea Salvador proposed the most bills (33) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Garrett graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2007 with a BSBA.

Garrett, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2019 to represent the state’s 27th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Trudy Wade.