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Artificially generated impersonations of political candidates might quickly violate state legislation.
Payments pending in each chambers of the Legislature would depart campaigns liable in civil court docket for unauthorized media content material that negatively influences an election.
“Whereas this know-how has the potential to make content material creation extra environment friendly, it additionally has the facility to unfold disinformation at an unprecedented price via deceptively practical content material,” mentioned Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Purple Hill. “It’s essential that we take steps to stop such blatant election interference and permit voters to make knowledgeable selections when casting ballots.”
Creators that disseminate deep fakes inside 90 days of an election will be fined as a lot as $250,000 if caught impersonating presidential or congressional candidates. The penalties drop to $50,000 and $15,000 for state and native candidates, respectively.
Pennycuick sponsored the legislation on Could 23 with fellow Republican Sen. Chris Gebhard and Democratic Sens. Jimmy Dillon and John Kane.
“That is about reality in our elections,” Kane mentioned. “We’re introducing this laws to safeguard the accuracy of data and shield our voters from the affect of fabricated content material. Each vote ought to be based mostly on reality, not deepfakes and AI-generated deception.”
The problem has drawn consideration throughout the nation as federal regulators weigh new limits for generative AI know-how.
For now, 14 states have enacted resolutions and pursued new legal guidelines focusing on deep fakes. One such state, New Hampshire, made headlines earlier than its Jan. 23 main election after a robocall that includes the voice of President Joe Biden informed residents to remain residence and save their votes for the November common election.
Rep. Tarik Kahn, D-Philadelphia, sponsored related laws within the Home and mentioned the escalation of detrimental advertisements from precise pictures, movies and sound clips to deep fakes serve no objective past “deception.”
“We are able to’t wait. We’re appearing,” he mentioned. “We’re standing with our Senate colleagues and reaching throughout the aisle to work collectively. That is how we safeguard our democracy and restore individuals’s belief.”