Senators advance bipartisan effort to regulate deepfakes
Last month, a group of senators from both sides of the aisle formally introduced what could become the country’s first national law to regulate deepfakes, which are realistic images and sound fabricated or modified with the aid of artificial intelligence. Often that content is produced for deceptive purposes.
The legislation is called the No Fakes Act — short for the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act.
It comes on the heels of controversies like that involving the OpenAI voice assistant, which may or may not have sounded a little too much like actress Scarlett Johansson. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, helped draft the bill. “The No Fakes Act is vital for these entertainers,” she said. “It protects their name, image, likeness, their vocal recordings.”
The legislation has been applauded by many in creative industries, said Moiya McTier, senior adviser at the Human Artistry Campaign, a group advocating for better guardrails on AI. The following is an edited transcript of her conversation with Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino.
Moiya McTier: One, it has bipartisan support. I think that’s pretty exciting. Two, it has support from the creative industry and the creatives themselves. And three, this is going to be the first-ever federal right to protect our voices and likenesses, not just as artists and creatives, but as citizens of the U.S. We don’t have that on the federal level, just at some state level right now.
Meghan McCarty Carino: Hollywood celebrities traditionally have been protected in California by a right of publicity. You can’t use their name, image or likeness without permission for commercial purposes. Would this be something similar on a national level?
McTier: That is exactly the right that we’re looking to get on a federal level. That right of publicity now only exists in some states, and we want to get something added to it. As far as I understand, in a lot of these states where you have the right of publicity, voice isn’t something that’s necessarily included. And before we had the technology to make believable digital replicas, the idea of a visual likeness was slightly different, so we’re trying to get that added to this right of publicity as well.
McCarty Carino: The law would make exceptions for uses that are considered to be parody or satire. But I imagine there’s kind of a fine line there.
McTier: The bill would give anyone, not just celebrities or artists, the ability to sue other platforms for creating or hosting their digital replicas. So yes, even something that an average person might not consider harmful to another person’s image does fall under this law because we do deserve the right to control how our likenesses are used, especially ones that can’t be told apart from our actual, real selves.
McCarty Carino: You sort of touched on this, but would this legislation provide the same protections for people who aren’t public figures?
McTier: Yes, absolutely. That’s one of the things I’m most excited about with the No Fakes Act, that it protects all citizens. For example, the Elvis Act that was recently passed in Tennessee with a lot of support from the Human Artistry Campaign, that one protects creatives, like artists and musicians. But this No Fakes Act is for everyone.
McCarty Carino: What is at stake here, when we’re talking about protections for these kinds of rights of publicity?
McTier: When you’re talking about celebrities and artists, then it’s their creative brand that’s at stake. It’s the work and the talent that they’ve put in to make their voice or their face or their style recognizable. And from every average citizen’s perspective, I think it’s really important to be able to move through the world feeling safer, feeling like we aren’t at risk of having our faces stolen or our voices stolen from us.
McCarty Carino: Are these sort of speculative threats, or do we see these things happening already?
McTier: We definitely see these things happening already. As soon as ChatGPT launched, as soon as voice-cloning technology launched, we did see artists being taken advantage of. And now that it’s easier for everyday people to access this technology, we’re seeing it being used in horrible instances of exploiting women, appropriating cultures, of ripping off people’s hard-earned creative labor. So we see it happen already.
While many in the entertainment industry support the bill, tech has concerns. The nonprofit Computer and Communications Industry Association, which counts Big Tech companies among its members, objected to the legislation, saying: “Without provisions that allow for fair use and free expression online, this legislation would dramatically change the internet. We understand the risks of false information that appears real, as our members deploy many algorithmic tools to identify and respond to deepfakes. This legislation emphasizes liability over support for these efforts.”
Of course, policing deepfakes online has proven tricky for platforms, as we discussed back in 2022 with responsible AI expert Anjana Susarla of Michigan State University. It’s hard for an algorithm to tell, for instance, if that video of deepfake Tom Cruise is purely comedic or something more malicious.
Stories You Might Like
The future of this podcast starts with you.
Every day, the “Marketplace Tech” team demystifies the digital economy with stories that explore more than just Big Tech. We’re committed to covering topics that matter to you and the world around us, diving deep into how technology intersects with climate change, inequity, and disinformation.
As part of a nonprofit newsroom, we’re counting on listeners like you to keep this public service paywall-free and available to all.
Support “Marketplace Tech” in any amount today and become a partner in our mission.
