Lawmakers in California are looking to expand the criminalization of so-called 'deepfake' videos in which a recording is altered in a way that makes it falsely depict
Assembly Bill 1903 was introduced by Assemblymember Tim Grayson on Wednesday. The bill would further define deepfakes as "as a recording that has been created or altered in a manner that it would falsely appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic record of the actual speech or conduct of the individual depicted in the recording."
The bill would also criminally prohibit anyone from "preparing, producing, or developing, without the depicted individual’s consent, a deepfake depicting sexual conduct."
Some exceptions have been carved out, including recording that are "clearly satire" or parody and those that contain a clear disclosure that the recording is not an actual record of a real event.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 730 into law in October 2019 that prohibits the creation and use of deepfakes or deceptive media, that may be false or damaging to a candidate's reputation to protect the upcoming 2020 election.
The bill would also allocate $25 million from the General Fund to the University of California to help fund research that would identify and combat the inappropriate use of deepfake technology.
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