USA:NY State Budget FY 2024-25 (Part MMSubpart B) :The Artificial Intelligence Delusive Practices Act

1.Overview

The Artificial Intelligence Deceptive Practices Act was passed as part of the FY 2024-25 budget of New York state.The objective of the act is to mitigate the misuse of AI-created content,specifically deepfakes,by setting penalties and clear standards for their dissemination and production.

2.Scope of the Law

The unauthorized sharing and production of AI-created content that falsely represents people in political situations or in intimate cases are covered. It also deals with both the sharing and creation of these types of deepfakes. The content that is obviously marked as satire, parody, or for journalism, and is intended to be exempted from this act.

3.Key provisions:

• Prohibited Acts:The dissemination and production of the “digitally altered synthetic media”is forbidden under the provision of this law.It is unlawful to publish,create,or distribute any synthetic media that falsely depicts individuals engaging in sexual conduct or alter political communication without prior consent.
• Consent Requirements:The consent of depicted subjects is mandatory for disseminating and creating intimate deepfakes.The use of synthetic media,for political content,must be accomplished by clearing its fake nature.
• Platform Responsibility:The mechanism of reporting unauthorized deepfake users must be provided by the online platforms.If the received complaint is valid,immediate actions should be taken to remove the offensive material or content.

4.Penalties and Enforcement

• Criminal and civil penalties:Infraction of the law can result in civil and criminal penalties,such as fines and possible litigation  by affected parties.Individuals can be charged for up to $5,000 per violation.
• Enforcement Authority:The New York State attorney General’s office is authorized to enforce this and bring actions against violators.

5.Notable Cases and precedents:

There have been no high-profile cases or court decisions so far,since the law is new. Nevertheless, its passage sets a precedent for prosecuting deepfake-related crimes within the state. 

6.Comparison to Global standards

New York’s law is one of the broader in the U.S., following other jurisdictions’ attempts to regulate deepfakes.New York’s law has more concrete provisions on political and intimate content in comparison to the European Union’s AI Act.

7.Practical implications

It ensures that content creators using any AI-produced content, particularly with real persons, meet the terms of consent and disclosure. It also provides the facility for victims to report illegal deepfakes to the hosting platform and pursue legal action under the new law. It requires online platforms to have strong reporting and content removal systems in place to act quickly against violations.

8.Future Outlook

New York’s regulation of deepfakes could be an example for other states and nations to follow. Continuing technological progress will probably lead to further legislative changes to address future challenges in AI-generated content.