Congressman Raja Co-Sponsors Bill to Fight Fraud on the Internet

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Congressman Krishnamoorthi co-sponsored HR 3230 – The DEEPFAKES Accountability Act, which would require that any “deep fake,” or media that has been constructed to make a person appear to do or say something they never said or did, be clearly marked digitally with a watermark or audiovisual disclosure.

At present, deep fakes have proliferated on various social media channels to serve political purposes, imitate content from private companies, and have also been used as revenge porn against individuals, as images and videos can easily be doctored in this medium.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to mandate disclosure of audio/visual alterations. It also states that failing to clearly disclose that media is a deep fake will result in a criminal or civil penalty, depending on severity and intent. The legislation would also allow anyone features in deep fake material to bring a civil action before a court and sue for damages.

This legislation was introduced by Representative Yvette Clark (D-NY-09) and is also supported by Illinois co-sponsors Robin Kelly (IL-02) and Bobby Rush (IL-01). For questions about this legislation, please contact Rachel Sorensen at rachel.sorensen@mail.house.gov .