New bipartisan bill would require online identification, labeling of AI-generated videos and audio

abcnews.go.com:

New bipartisan legislation introduced in the House would require the identification and labeling of online content generated using artificial intelligence

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House Thursday would require the identification and labeling of online images, videos and audio generated using artificial intelligence, the latest effort to rein in rapidly developing technologies that, if misused, could easily deceive and mislead.

So-called deepfakes created by artificial intelligence can be hard or even impossible to tell from the real thing. AI has already been used to mimic President Joe Biden's voice, exploit the likenesses of celebrities and impersonate world leaders, prompting fears it could lead to greater misinformation, sexual exploitation, consumer scams and a widespread loss of trust.

Key provisions in the legislation would require AI developers to identify content created using their products with digital watermarks or metadata, similar to how photo metadata records the location, time and settings of a picture. Online platforms like TikTok, YouTube or Facebook would then be required to label the content in a way that would notify users. Final details of the proposed rules would be crafted by the Federal Trade Commission based on input from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a small agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Violators of the proposed rule would be subject to civil lawsuits.

“We've seen so many examples already, whether it's voice manipulation or a video deepfake. I think the American people deserve to know whether something is a deepfake or not," said Rep. Anna Eshoo, a Democrat who represents part of California's Silicon Valley. Eshoo co-sponsored