Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill this spring that will require clear disclosure when manipulated or synthetic video, images, and audio, sometimes called “deepfakes,” are used in election-related media.
In recent years, CIP co-founders Ryan Calo, a School of Law professor with a joint appointment in the Information School, and Jevin West, an iSchool associate professor, have helped advise Washington state lawmakers and edited early versions of the deepfakes disclosure bill.
“At the Center for an Informed Public, part of our mission is to translate research learnings into policy. We were fortunate to be working with lawmakers open to suggestions regarding the technology,” said West. “With more generative AI tools shaping the media we see and hear, it’s important for those consuming it to understand what’s been manipulated.”
According to the approved legislation, S.B. 5152:
For visual media, the text of the disclosure must appear in size easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual media does not include any other text, the disclosure must appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is a video, the disclosure must appear for the duration of the video; or (b) If the media consists of audio only, the disclosure must be read in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener, at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio is greater than two minutes in length, interspersed within the audio at intervals of not more than two minutes each.
An earlier bill aiming to address the use of deepfake images in election-related media, sponsored by then-State Sen. David Frockt, did not move forward during the 2022 legislative session. But a revised proposal, requested by Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and sponsored by State Sen. Javier Valdez, was approved by lawmakers during the recently concluded 2023 legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Inslee in early May. The new law will take effect on July 23.
“This bill is a powerful step towards protecting the integrity of our democratic process,” Valdez said in a statement. “With this legislation, we send a clear message that the use of manipulative media will not be tolerated, and that candidates and campaigns can work for the hearts and minds of voters on a level playing field.”
Calo noted that it’s “gratifying that legislators seek the Center’s input on such consequential issues as manipulating public opinion with synthetic media. I’m hopeful this careful, timely legislation does some good.”
PHOTO AT TOP: The Rotunda of the Washington State Capitol in Olympia.
