Michigan House Passes Bill Regulating Intimate A.I. Deepfakes
Washington, D.C. and Lansing, Mich. – Today, in a nearly unanimous vote, the Michigan House of Representatives passed bipartisan House Bills 5569 and 5570, which would make it a crime to circulate nonconsensual intimate A.I. deepfakes.
Intimate deepfakes cause serious harm to innocent people. Victims report experiencing significant emotional consequences and trauma, as well as damage to their reputation and career. The vast majority of the victims are women and girls.
This past October, more than 30 teen girls in New Jersey were violated when A.I.-generated nude images of them were circulated at their high school.
“No one should have to worry that they or their child might be violated by an intimate deepfake,” said Rep. Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), who is chair of the Michigan House Elections Committee and sponsor of House Bill 5569. “Passing legislation like this gives us a broader set of tools to counter emerging threats involving A.I. and as we have seen, these threats are already causing serious harm to victims.”
“Michigan took a bold step forward today to address one of the many threats posed by A.I. deepfakes,” said Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar), sponsor of House Bill 5570. “As A.I. evolves beyond current legal frameworks, it’s important for legislators to establish that the distribution of nonconsensual intimate deepfakes will be criminalized so that perpetrators will be held accountable and victims can seek justice.”
“It has become disturbingly easy to exploit individuals by using their likeness in these explicit images, and it will only become easier as deepfake technology advances,” said Ilana Beller, organizing manager for Public Citizen’s democracy campaign. “As the circulation of intimate deepfakes increases, regulation is critical, and we applaud the Michigan House for passing this legislation.”