ICYMI: U.S. News publishes Senator Coons op-ed on need to pass NO FAKES Act to protect Americans from AI deepfakes

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, yesterday published an op-ed in U.S. News & World Report urging the swift passage of his bipartisan Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2024, known as the NO FAKES Act. This bill - which would provide all Americans with the tools necessary to safeguard their voices and likenesses against unauthorized AI-generated deepfakes - would also help deter AI-powered misinformation and disinformation that threatens to upend democratic elections across the country.

Unauthorized generative AI deepfakes utilizing a real person's voice or likeness have had a negative impact across American society, popping up in everything from financial scams to computer-generated songs featuring famous artists created without their participation or permission. Deepfakes have also played an increasingly large role in the runup to November's elections, including a fake video featuring Vice President Harris that was amplified by billionaire Elon Musk and photos that falsely suggested pop superstar Taylor Swift supported former President Trump's 2024 campaign. The use of deepfake-driven misinformation is likely to only increase in the next 26 days and in the aftermath of the election.

This summer, Senator Coons introduced the NO FAKES Act alongside Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) to protect the voices and visual likenesses of all Americans from the proliferation of digital replicas created without their consent.

The legislation has wide support from advocates for creative artists and entertainment giants, including the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Warner Music Group, The Walt Disney Co., Sony Music, the Motion Picture Association, and the Recording Industry Association of America.

U.S. News: AI Deepfakes Threaten Americans and Our Election

The rise of easy-to-use generative AI programs has created new frontiers for disinformation. Now, with a few clicks and a well-written prompt, even a child can create audio, video or photographs of real people - your senator or your next-door neighbor - with the intent of manipulating voters and consumers.

This year we've already seen an AI-generated robocall featuring a fake voice that sounded like President Joe Biden, intended to suppress turnout by Democrats in the New Hampshire primary. There was a digital ad shared by Elon Musk, owner of X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, to his 200 million followers that was a facsimile of Vice President Kamala Harris speaking made-up lines and claiming to be a "diversity hire." Nor can we forget the AI-generated photos of pop megastar Taylor Swift and fans purportedly endorsing Donald Trump, which the former president sent to his nearly 8 million followers on Truth Social. (Weeks later, the real Swift endorsed Harris on her own Instagram, but fans could be forgiven for being confused.)

…

That's why a bipartisan group of senators - Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and myself - have introduced the NO FAKES Act to protect the voices and visual likenesses not just of public officials and celebrities, but of ordinary Americans, too. As Senate leaders weigh the introduction of a package of legislation addressing AI - hopefully before the end of the year - the NO FAKES Act would protect all of us from unauthorized deepfakes and ought to be part of any final package.

…

With fewer than four weeks until Election Day, it may be too late to stop any type of deepfakes aimed at influencing the outcome of the vote, but AI-enabled scams aren't bound by election seasons.So it's essential that we pass this legislation as soon as possible, not only to secure the integrity of our democracy, but also to protect the American people who deserve to be the owners of their identities.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.