ST. PAUL — Using artificial intelligence to create sexual images of people without their consent or for spreading election disinformation would be a crime in Minnesota under a bill moving closer to becoming state law.
The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday, May 10, advanced a bill aimed at fighting the misuse of “deepfakesâ€: realistic artificial-intelligence-generated video, images and sound portraying people saying and doing things they’ve never done.
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The often convincing images have vastly proliferated on the internet in recent years, prompting alarm among ethicists and political observers, who worry about their potential for election manipulation and harassment.
“Deepfake technology has the power to damage reputations, ruin lives, and even threaten the integrity of our democracy,†said bill sponsor Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, reading from an AI-generated speech.
“The advancement of AI has been incredibly fast,†Maye Quade continued. “Five years ago, it would have taken a lot of money, time and a producing studio to create a realistic AI depiction.â€
Minnesota wouldn’t be the first to introduce new laws regulating the use of AI-generated fakes. California and Texas already have laws on the books.
The Minnesota House passed its version of the deepfake bill in March, but it differs slightly from the version that passed in the Senate on Wednesday. Members of the Senate adopted an amendment to remove a freedom of speech and expression provision from the sexual images part of the bill.
House bill language provided an exception for sexual imagery deepfakes that are parody, satire, commentary, criticism or have political or news value.
“I cannot think of any exception that there should be in our laws for distributing deepfake sexual imagery,†Maye Quade said on the Senate floor.
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Sen. Eric Lucero, R-St. Michael, a bill cosponsor, said he agreed with strengthening the bill, and the Senate unanimously approved an amendment to remove the exception.
Now the House will have to vote to concur with the Senate change before the governor can sign it into law.
A deepfake ban bill in part came as a response to an explosion of AI-generated pornography online. About 96% of deepfakes found online are pornographic in nature, Maye Quade said. The technology to produce images and sound can be available for free, and casual users can access some of the cruder deepfake generators with relative ease.
Minnesota already has a statute prohibiting revenge porn, or the nonconsensual distribution of private sexual images, but House bill sponsor Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said the current law would likely not apply to pornographic deepfakes.
Under the bill, it would be a gross misdemeanor to distribute without consent altered images of a person as being naked or engaging in a sexual act when the person was not actually naked or engaging in sex.
People depicted in sexual deepfakes could also sue the creators for damages and to have the images taken down from the internet. The bill would also establish a felony penalty for knowingly posting a pornographic deepfake to a website, disseminating it for profit, using it to harass a person, or if it's a repeat offense.
On the elections side, it would be a crime to knowingly distribute an altered video to injure a candidate or influence the outcome of an election within 60 days of Election Day. It would be a misdemeanor on the first offense, a gross misdemeanor if it is done with the intent to cause violence, and a felony if it’s the second offense within five years.
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Senators passed the bill itself 64-1, with just one Republican voting against. Sen. Nathan Wesenberg, R-Little Falls, said he wanted to see higher civil fines for deepfake offenses.
With widespread support from both parties, it's likely the deepfake bill will reach the governor’s desk by the end of the legislative session on May 22.
Follow Alex Derosier on Twitter or email aderosier@forumcomm.com .
The Trust Project
