California Governor Gavin Newsom Addresses Concerns Regarding the Spread of Misleading AI-Generated Content
Sacramento, CA- California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his intention to sign a bill that will regulate content generated by artificial intelligence. This decision comes after Elon Musk shared a political advertisement featuring an AI voice imitating Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal,” said Newsom on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”
Musk responded, “I checked … and … parody is legal in America.”
“We’re working with the Legislature to ensure this issue is addressed in a bill already going through the legislative process,” said Newsom’s office in a statement to The Center Square.
Newsom’s office stated that they are collaborating with the Legislature to address this issue in a bill that is currently going through the legislative process, according to a statement given to The Center Square.
A new bill, AB 2655, has been introduced as the “Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024.” If passed, this bill would impose certain obligations on internet platforms. Specifically, it would require them to prevent the posting of deceptive content related to elections during specific timeframes before and after an election.
Additionally, they would need to label certain content as inauthentic, fake, or false during those same timeframes. The bill would also allow candidates for elected office, elected officials, elections officials, the Attorney General, and a district attorney or city attorney to take legal action against a large online platform for not following the rules.
It is worth mentioning that the bill includes a provision that would exclude “content that is satire or parody” from its regulations. Additionally, any mainstream news outlet would be permitted to share such content as long as it is clearly labeled with a disclosure.
AB 2839 aims to prevent the distribution of misleading content in political advertisements and election communications during specific time periods surrounding an election. Individuals, including recipients, candidates, and election officials, would have the option to take legal action to prevent the distribution of the media and seek compensation from the responsible party. There are certain exceptions for traditional news media if they use disclaimers, or for satire and parody.
Both bills are currently awaiting approval from the legislature and may receive the governor’s support in the near future. The inclusion of regulations on parody or satire for election-related materials in the bills raises questions about their interaction with the First Amendment.
Additionally, it remains uncertain how these rules would be applied to internet content that is accessible to Californians on a global scale.
Source: The Center Square
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