Lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill to combat AI counterfeits

(TNS) — A bipartisan bill led by Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson and a Massachusetts Democrat would seek to crack down on the growing threats and distribution of sexually explicit “deepfakes” on digital platforms.

As first reported by Politico, Hinson, of Marion, and U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, of Massachusetts, have introduced legislation that would create Section 230 protections for big tech companies that fail to remove “deepfake” pornography, including that generated by artificial intelligence, from their platforms.

Digitally manipulated images and videos falsely show someone saying or doing something. They often take the form of sexually explicit photos and videos posted on the internet.

Digitally altered material often fuses a victim’s face with a body in a pornographic video using generative artificial intelligence models to create audio, videos and images that look and sound realistic.

In 2023, the FBI warned of a sharp rise in the use of deepfakes in “sextortion” schemes, in which a person threatens to distribute sexually explicit images and videos of another person unless the victim pays.

Deepfakes have targeted public figures such as celebrities, politicians and influencers. But cases have also emerged in middle and high schools, where students have fabricated explicit images of female classmates and shared the manipulated photos.

Hinson’s bill seeks to protect Americans’ privacy by holding online platforms, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, accountable for cracking down on intimate fakes. Otherwise, the companies could lose their legal immunity from lawsuits over the content on their platforms.

“We know that deepfakes and other AI-generated and altered content pose a significant and growing threat to our ability to trust what we see online, as well as the potential for bad actors to create malicious deepfake content that can cause serious harm to victims,” Hinson told reporters during a weekly conference call on Thursday.

The New York Times reported that students in several states have used widely available “stripping” apps to create convincing AI-powered pornography of their classmates that they then posted online.

What the bill would do

The Privacy Protection Act aims to hold Big Tech accountable for addressing harmful content by amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which shields online platforms from liability for third-party content created and posted by their users on their services.

The bill would strip big tech companies of immunity in cases where platforms fail to combat cyberbullying, digital fakes and violations of personal privacy.

Under the legislation, tech platforms would have a legal obligation to act responsibly to protect others from harm, including having a “reasonable process” to prevent such privacy breaches, including “a clear and accessible process” to report, investigate and remove harmful content within 24 hours.

The bill would also mandate data registration requirements to ensure victims have access to data for legal proceedings, as well as a process to remove or block content that a court determines is unlawful.

“Big tech companies should not be able to hide behind Section 230 if they fail to protect users from deepfakes and other violations of intimate privacy,” Hinson said.

Hinson’s bill comes as Congress and lawmakers across the country consider how to respond to the emerging problem fueled by artificial intelligence technology and the harms of social media on young people.

“I think it’s become too easy for these bad actors to not only create this content but to circulate these inappropriate images, these deepfakes, online,” Hinson said. “As a mother, this really concerns me. We’re watching our kids grow up in a totally different time. We’re in uncharted territory with the rise of social media and how quickly things spread.

“So we need to work together to ensure we are protecting children from these online dangers, while also ensuring our big tech companies are doing their part to keep our users, and children in particular, safe online.”

Iowa Efforts

In recent years, there have also been crackdowns on “deepfake” pornography in states like Iowa.

This year, Iowa state lawmakers passed and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law legislation that criminalizes the dissemination, distribution and publication of pornographic images and videos that have been digitally altered to falsely depict another person.

Under the new state law, a person who distributes a digitally altered image or video that shows a person fully or partially nude or engaged in a sexual act is guilty of stalking. The crime is an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of between $855 and $8,540.

It also requires anyone 18 or older convicted of the new crime to register as a sex offender.

US Senate Bills

Last month, the US Senate passed a bill that would give victims the ability to sue anyone who creates, shares or receives non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes depicting them.

Separate legislation passed by the Senate would criminalize the distribution of private sexually explicit or nude images online.

On Tuesday, senators overwhelmingly approved a pair of child online safety bills designed to protect children from dangerous online content.

Under the bill, social media platforms would have to offer children options to protect their information, limit other users’ communication with children and disable certain features that “increase, sustain or extend use” of the platform, such as auto-playing videos or platform rewards.

And it would require companies to offer users specific pages to report harmful content.

First Amendment

Civil rights, civil liberties and privacy organizations argue that the Children’s Online Safety Act, or KOSA, would violate the First Amendment by allowing the federal government to dictate what information minors can access online.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues that the bill will limit minors’ access to vital resources and silence important online conversations for all ages. The ACLU has also expressed concern about how the bill could be used to limit adults’ ability to freely express themselves online or access diverse viewpoints.

Hinson said his bill explicitly states that it will not be construed as a violation of First Amendment rights.

“There’s a lot of bipartisan momentum here when it comes to protecting our kids online, so I’ll continue to work to build consensus on that and strike the right balance,” she said. “… We were very clear about trying to balance that protection with making sure that bad actors are held accountable.”

© 2024 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.