New York’s Democratic Attorney General has sent a letter to major technology companies demanding that they step in and “protect” users of their respective websites from “misinformation” about the election.

“While misinformation has been a problem in past elections, with the advent of generative AI, the barriers preventing malicious actors from creating deceptive or misleading content have been dramatically weakened,” James wrote in a letter to ten social media and AI companies, including Meta, Google and OpenAI.

The letter, sent this week and first obtained by ABC News, requests face-to-face meetings with the tech companies to explain to James the “meaningful steps the companies are taking to protect voters” to prevent misinformation about the election, the news outlet reported. The letter did not mention penalties for not complying with James’s demands, but ABC noted that “any request from the Attorney General carries the possibility of coercive action.”

Fox Digital has reached out to James’ office regarding the letter and asked what penalties the companies face if they fail to comply, but has not immediately received a response.

According to the Media Research Center, Google has interfered in elections 41 times in the last 16 years

State Attorney General Letitia James during a public safety announcement to prevent gun violence at City Hall. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The proliferation of artificial intelligence apps and programs has led to a rise in misleading and persuasive videos on social media in recent years, including those targeting Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. James – a well-known critic of Trump and a campaigner to prosecute him in 2018 – said AI-generated videos could cause confusion in the run-up to Election Day.

COURT: Biden’s agency ‘likely’ violated free speech by working with Big Tech to censor election content

However, big tech companies’ influence on elections has become the target of intense criticism in recent years, most notably in 2020 when reports first surfaced about Hunter Biden’s now-infamous laptop. The New York Post broke the story of Hunter Biden’s laptop just days before the 2020 election in an article detailing the First Son’s overseas business communications.

However, Twitter and Facebook took steps to stop the article from spreading on social media, deeming it misinformation, while liberal media and former intelligence officials criticized the laptop and report as “Russian disinformation.”

A jury in Delaware found Hunter Biden guilty on all counts. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The laptop resurfaced earlier this summer when the First Son was on trial in Delaware for purchasing a firearm in 2018 while suffering from a crack cocaine addiction. At the trial, which found Hunter guilty on all counts, the laptop was officially admitted as evidence and confirmed as legitimate by the FBI.

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It was believed that the suppression of this story likely influenced the outcome of the 2020 election, in which President Biden defeated Trump.

New York Attorney General Letitia James leaves the courtroom for a lunch break during the civil trial of former President Donald Trump on fraud charges in New York State Supreme Court November 13, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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“Silicon Valley giants use powerful reactive and proactive methods of social engineering to change public opinion and influence election outcomes,” Hans von Spakovsky and Daniel Cochrane of the Heritage Foundation wrote in an article earlier this year. “Reactive methods typically involve censoring or excluding voices that do not align with progressive values.”

“One of the most notorious examples is Facebook and Twitter’s suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 presidential election.”

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Twitter has since been sold to tech billionaire Elon Musk, who renamed the site “X” and now promotes the service as a platform for free expression.