The U.S. Copyright Office is warning of an urgent national need for protection against deepfakes. In the first installment of a multipart report on the adverse effects of artificial intelligence on copyright, the office recommends the immediate enactment of a law to combat AI-driven “digital replicas.” Acknowledging that copyright has always had a symbiotic relationship with technology, as well as AI’s tremendous potential, the report nonetheless decries the proliferation of AI-generated deepfakes, “from celebrities’ images endorsing products to politicians’ likenesses seeking to affect voter behavior.”

The election-related fakery has emerged a particular problem. “While authorities, including the FBI and Department of Justice, have publicly expressed concern about deepfakes in the run-up to November, no such federal regulation covers deepfakes,” writes AI Business, noting that Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk recently shared a video featuring a manipulated version of Vice President Kamala Harris’ voice.

The Copyright Office report focuses on AI and intellectual property. “You don’t have to file a copyright request on yourself to prevent an advertiser from using your likeness, obviously, but can the same be said for AI-powered replications of you?,” asks TechCrunch.

“A few years ago it would take lots of time and effort to make a ‘digital replica’” of a person, TechCrunch explains, but now “nearly anyone can create a passable virtual version of you quite easily and cheaply,” raising “new possibilities for abuse, as the FCC and other federal agencies have pointed out.”

The impact of digital replication “is not limited to a select group of individuals, a particular industry, or a geographic location,” the report says, stressing the need for comprehensive legislation.

“A spate of legislation is in progress to address unauthorized deepfakes, but these laws are fragmented, focusing on specific applications,” AI Business reports, explaining that “for instance, the Deepfakes Accountability Act aims to safeguard national security from deepfakes and Tennessee’s ELVIS Act safeguards vocal rights of musicians.”

Thomson Reuters provides a legislative round-up.

“It has become clear that the distribution of unauthorized digital replicas poses a serious threat not only in the entertainment and political arenas but also for private citizens,” Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter explained in an announcement of the first of what are to be several reports on the subject issuing from the agency.

“We believe there is an urgent need for effective nationwide protection against the harms that can be caused to reputations and livelihoods,” she said.

Artificial intelligence “raises fundamental questions for copyright law and policy, which many see as existential,” the report says, concluding “the speed, precision, and scale of AI-created digital replicas calls for prompt federal action.”

Related:
Microsoft, Copyright Office to Lawmakers: Make Deepfakes Illegal, CNET, 7/31/24
Protecting the Public from Abusive AI-Generated Content, Microsoft, 7/30/24
Senate Introduces NO FAKES Act to Address Deepfakes and AI, ETCentric, 8/2/24