States are rapidly adopting laws regulating political deepfakes
State AI regulation update
States are rapidly adopting laws to grapple with political deepfakes in lieu of comprehensive federal regulation of manipulated media related to elections, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Nineteen states passed laws regulating deepfakes in elections, and 26 others considered related bills. But an NBC News review of the laws and a new analysis from the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute affiliated with New York University School of Law, finds that most states’ deepfake laws are so broad that they would face tough court challenges, while a few are so narrow that they leave plenty of options for bad actors to use the technology to deceive voters.
“It’s actually quite incredible how many of these laws have passed,” said Larry Norden, vice president of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program and the author of the analysis released Tuesday.
The study found that states introduced 151 different bills this year that addressed deepfakes and other deceptive media meant to fool voters, about a quarter of all state AI laws introduced.
“That’s not something you generally see, and I think it is a reflection of how quickly this technology has evolved and how concerned legislators are that it could impact political campaigns,” he said.
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