Sens. Moran, Cortez Masto sponsor bill to research deepfakes

U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced a bill to fund research into ways of detecting “deepfakes.”

Deepfakes are online videos that are manipulated to realistically mimic a person’s identity. This legislation would seek to raise awareness of deepfakes and outline ways to combat the rising threat of this technology.

The bill – called the Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act (IOGAN Act) — directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support research to accelerate the development of technologies that could help detect deepfakes.

“As technology continues to evolve, so do the complexity and frequency of digital threats to Americans,” Moran, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said. “Deepfakes can be means for a variety of ill-intentioned uses, but the technology poses a specific threat to U.S. voters and consumers by way of misinformation that is increasingly difficult to identify. The Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act will assist the federal government to effectively coordinate its efforts to address this threat by accelerating research and development of deepfake technology detection.”

Specifically, the IOGAN Act also directs the NIST to work on setting measurements and standards relating to this technology. Further, it asks the NIST to develop a report on the feasibility of public-private partnerships to detect deepfakes.

“In the last decade, technology has completely revolutionized Americans’ lives,” Cortez Masto said. “Yet that innovation also requires Congress to ensure that we have guardrails in place to protect our country from the malicious use of technology. Recently, deepfake technologies have been used to spoof the voices of leaders in other countries, to spread misinformation during democratic elections, and to confuse and defraud consumers. I’m introducing the Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act so that we can understand how to better identify deepfake technology, devise comprehensive strategies to stop it and to ensure we’re educating Nevadans, and all Americans on ways they can protect themselves.”

Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH).