The Legal Status and Challenges of Deepfake Technology

The issue of Deepfake generated by artificial intelligence has been around for a long time, and there is no solid legislation to protect people from its harm. The focus of the latest artificial intelligence regulations is mainly on the potential for machines to go out of control.

However, the current laws dealing with Deepfake are too weak. So why hasn't anyone taken action?

About the Current Situation

This year, numerous artificial intelligence Senate hearings and summits have caused a huge sensation regarding future artificial intelligence regulations. The recent meeting convened all the tech giants to discuss the possibility of drafting legislation for artificial intelligence regulations in closed-door discussions. The meeting took proactive preventive measures for both possible and unlikely scenarios, while major issues including Deepfake continue to be overlooked.

Deepfake has been a serious threat in the field of artificial intelligence crime since 2017, but the laws concerning Deepfake are still not strict enough. In the United States, crimes related to Deepfake increased from 0.2% to 2.6% in the first quarter of 2023, with over 90% being Deepfake pornography. So far, there is no federal law in the United States that criminalizes the creation or sharing of non-consensual Deepfake pornography.

Currently, only a few states in the United States, including Hawaii, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming, consider non-consensual Deepfake as a criminal act. In states like New York and California, victims can file civil lawsuits. Several other states are also in the process of proposing related laws.

In addition, if the creators of Deepfake content are beyond the jurisdiction of the relevant states, the legislation will not apply. Only a few states have adopted this bill, making it unlikely to be enforced as common law throughout the United States.

With the development of Deepfake technology, relevant legislation is crucial. Rebecca Delfino, a law professor at Loyola Law School, stated that as technology becomes more advanced, it is difficult to determine whether something is real or fake unless it is examined by digital forensics experts.

A Global Issue

The European Union, which attaches great importance to privacy issues, surprisingly has not resolved the issue of Deepfake. The focus of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act is to classify artificial intelligence systems according to risk levels and guide member states in developing artificial intelligence systems. However, the issue of Deepfake is handled differently.

The act does not directly prohibit the use of Deepfake technology but regulates it by increasing transparency for creators. The act also stipulates that creators need to indicate whether the content is artificially generated, and the United States has been discussing with major tech companies to address this issue through watermarks.

Earlier this year, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued comprehensive regulations on the management of Deepfake content. The regulations prohibit the use of Deepfake content without user consent and require specific identification of content generated by artificial intelligence.

In Singapore, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (PMPFA) prohibits the use of Deepfake videos.

Although countries are accelerating the process of dealing with cybercrime and issues related to artificial intelligence, transnational challenges may hinder its full implementation. This situation will never be fully resolved until strict Deepfake regulations are implemented.

Despite actively discussing whether artificial intelligence will bring about the extinction of humanity in the future, crimes related to artificial intelligence, such as Deepfake, will continue to cause harm.