US Senators Introduce COPIED Act to Combat AI Deepfakes
New bill seeks to protect original content from unauthorized AI use
In a move to protect the rights of creators and journalists, a new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Senate. The Content Original Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media (COPIED) Act aims to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in generating content and deepfakes, safeguarding the work of artists, songwriters, and journalists.
Senators Marsha Blackburn, Maria Cantwell, and Martin Heinrich are the driving forces behind the legislation. The bill proposes the creation of transparency standards through the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. These standards would include guidelines for content provenance information, watermarking, and synthetic content detection.
The COPIED Act also seeks to prohibit the unauthorized use of legally created content by AI to train models or generate AI content. Internet platforms, search engines, and social media companies would face expanded prohibitions against tampering with or removing content provenance information. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general would be given the authority to enforce these guidelines, allowing individuals to pursue legal action against entities that use their content without consent or proper compensation.
The initiative has garnered support from various content and journalism advocacy groups, such as SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, and the National Newspaper Association. The COPIED Act follows earlier efforts, including the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act, to create a framework of guidelines for the escalating use of AI in content creation.
Creators and journalists can take comfort in the fact that lawmakers are taking steps to protect their rights in the ever-evolving digital landscape. As AI technology continues to advance, it is clear that regulations must keep pace to ensure that original content is safeguarded against unauthorized and uncredited use.
