S.C. legislation could ban deepfake media ban during elections
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - A South Carolina lawmaker is working to prevent the potential spread of misinformation in the 2024 elections and beyond.
Bill H.4660 would ban the use of deepfake media 90 days out from an election unless otherwise disclosed by the affected person.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson for District 70 is leading the charge for said bill.
“It’s very hard to decipher between what’s real and what’s fake nowadays, because of these different technologies coming down. If this type of misinformation spreads, it would lead people down the wrong path,” Johnson says.
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Deepfake media is the idea of mimicking the likeness or mannerisms of another person through images, audio or video recordings.
Originally a burst of creativity for s is now a concern for candidates, elected officials and voters on the national, statewide and local levels.
“This is just one other tool bad actors do have. We’ve been tracking his through DHS, SLED, FBI, local state and federal partners for quite some time,” Charleston Co. Board of Voter Registration and Elections Executive Director Isaac Cramer says.
Both Cramer and state Representative Jermaine Johnson are most concerned with how easily accessible AI technology and deepfake media is.
One visit to the App Store lists an array of face swaps or similar apps that do the same thing, most of them completely free of charge.
As widely uncharted territory, it raises a red flag for potential misinformation.
“Number one thing you can do is ask the question: where does this come from? Where does this misinformation, where is the origin at?” Cramer says.
Under H.4660, any person caught impersonating a candidate or deterring voters from the polls using “synthetic media” could face up to 90 days and a $500 fine for a first offense.
Afterward, it becomes up to five years for a second offense and a $1000 fine and up to five years for a third.
“Some of these situations would be irreparable harm for individuals running for office. If a lie gets out there, it is very hard to retract those statements, fix the damage that is done,” Johnson says. “This is not to discourage freedom of speech and creative or artistic measures. This is just something we really want to make sure we’re protected.”
The Legislative session convened at the State House on Tuesday.
Johnson says he has already started to get the conversation started and hopes to have this bill ed in time for the 2024 elections.
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