The surge in deepfakes, artificially generated media, has ignited concerns among lawmakers as the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election looms. Celebrities, U.S. Senators, and even religious figures have fallen victim to these fabricated videos and audio clips. This has prompted two Democratic members of Congress to call upon major social media platforms to account for their inaction regarding deceptive AI-generated political ads.
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York have jointly dispatched a letter to the CEOs of Meta, Facebook, and Instagram, expressing their “serious concerns” regarding the proliferation of these deceptive AI-generated political ads. The missive implores the companies to elucidate any existing protocols aimed at mitigating the potential spread of misinformation and safeguarding the integrity of forthcoming federal elections.
“Voters deserve to know what guardrails are being put in place,” asserted Klobuchar. She queried, “We are simply asking them, ‘Can’t you do this? Why aren’t you doing this?’” Notably, Klobuchar is spearheading a Senate initiative alongside Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri to regulate AI-generated political advertisements. The proposed legislation seeks to proscribe “materially deceptive” deepfakes related to federal candidates, albeit with provisions for parody and satire.
Ari Cohn, an attorney at the think-tank TechFreedom, offered a contrarian perspective during a recent Senate Hearing on the issue. He contended that existing deepfakes have attracted “immense scrutiny, even ridicule,” and have not substantially influenced voter behavior or led to misinformation.
While many fellow Democrats have been hesitant to endorse an outright ban on political deepfakes, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York has introduced a bill designed to empower the Federal Election Commission with the authority to enforce a disclaimer requirement on AI-generated election advertisements.
Google, in a proactive measure, has announced that starting in mid-November, it will mandate a conspicuous disclaimer on AI-generated election ads that have been altered or enhanced from their original form.
Whether or not social media giants Meta and X will mirror this commitment remains uncertain. Nevertheless, U.S. lawmakers have unequivocally emphasized their intent to hold these tech behemoths accountable for forestalling the potential disruption posed by deepfakes in the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election.
Source: AP News
