Welcome to our first IssueVoter Bill of the Month! IssueVoter is a nonpartisan, nonprofit online platform dedicated to giving everyone a voice in our democracy. As part of their service, they summarize important bills passing through Congress and set out the opinions for and against the legislation, helping us to better understand the issues. BillTrack50 is delighted to partner with IssueVoter and we link to their analysis from relevant bills. Look for the IssueVoter link at the top of the page:
Deepfake Scams in the Financial Sector
This month, following on from my in depth look at artificial intelligence (AI) legislation, we're looking at HR5808 - Preventing Deep Fake Scams Act. Deepfakes are videos of a person which are digitally altered so they appear to be someone else, which creates the possibility of misleading the viewer. Most legislation around deepfakes concerns their use in non consensual pornography or to affect the outcome of an election. This bill is unusual therefore in that it attempts to tackle deepfake use in committing fraud, by establishing the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Services Sector. The task force will explore the benefits to financial institutions as well as the risks to consumer account security and will be chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury or a nominee. If the bill passes, the task force will be required to produce a report to Congress within a year which will include advice to financial institutions on how to prevent such fraud and also advice to Congress on how to regulate it effectively.
IssueVoter quotes proponents of the bill (the sponsors of the bill in the House, both a Democrat and a Republican) who highlight the fast changing nature of the risks that deepfake technology will make identity theft and fraud easier and the need for policy makers to understand these risks to be able to create effective safeguards. Opponents of the bill (from the financial sector) cite the benefits and uses of AI to increase productivity and add value, as well as in actually fighting fraud.
The bill was introduced in the House on September 28, and has been referred to the Committee on Financial Services. It's difficult to predict its chances of success, given the current legislative logjam in Congress, but given its bipartisan nature and modest scope it might manage to become law.
Other AI Legislation
Looking at deepfake and AI legislation more broadly, this stakeholder page details 17 of the most interesting pieces of state and federal legislation between 2019 and 2022 that have actually become law. The National Defense Authorization Act 2021 requires the Department of Homeland Security to issue an annual report on deepfakes for five years, but with a broader remit than just the financial sector. The first report (from January 2023) serves more as a baseline assessment of the technologies and risks, with more meaty content to come.
On a state level, Virginia was the first state to legislate against deepfakes with SB1736 in 2019, with both California and Texas following suit and passing laws prohibiting the use of deepfakes to influence elections. California also passed a law prohibiting the use of deepfakes in pornography without the explicit consent of the subject.
In 2023, many states have introduced AI legislation. Here's a stakeholder page detailing deepfakes bills and another setting out bills aimed at regulating their use during election campaigns. Six states have enacted legislation - Louisiana, Minnesota, New York and Texas have enacted legislation creating offenses for producing and distributing non consensual deepfake pornography. Michigan has enacted 4 pieces of legislation, aimed at creating offenses for distributing deceptive media, regulating campaign advertising, to define artificial intelligence for this purpose and to provide sentencing guidelines. Washington state also enacted SB5152, defining synthetic media in campaigning and outlines penalties for improper use (for example, where an appropriately prominent disclaimer was not included).
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About IssueVoter - IssueVoter is a nonpartisan, nonprofit online platform dedicated to giving everyone a voice in our democracy. Their free public service makes civic engagement accessible, efficient, and impactful by providing alerts on new legislation, helping you understand new bills quickly and share your opinion directly with your representative.
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