Bill Could Protect From Pornographic Deepfakes
Written by on July 16, 2023
Bill S.1042-A-Hinchey/A.3596-A-Paulin addresses the troubling issue of pornographic deepfakes, defined as “pornographic media created using artificial intelligence that includes a person’s image without their consent.” Advances in artificial intelligence now make it possible to superimpose a picture of a person’s face onto a picture or video of another person’s nude body in a realistic-looking way.
New York law already bans the publication or distribution of nude and/or sexual images and videos of a person without that person’s consent. This bill would extend those provisions to include pornographic deepfakes. If passed, this legislation would allow jail terms up to one year and $1,000 fines for persons who violate its provisions. It would also allow victims to sue for money damages. According to the sponsor’s memorandum, “‘deep-fakes’ are being weaponized against innocent and unsuspecting victims and they are becoming increasingly more common… Sensity, a cybersecurity firm, reported that of the 85,000 ‘deepfakes’ currently circulating the web, 90 percent demonstrate nonconsensual porn featuring women. As this technology improves, these ‘deepfakes’ appear more realistic and it becomes nearly impossible to [tell] what is a real image and what is doctored.”
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms supports this legislation and encourages Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign it. Persons who use other people’s faces to create obscene content without their permission deserve to be punished.
