In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to help safeguard Pennsylvanians from exploitative deepfakes and hold the platforms that proliferate them accountable through our state courts. 

 

All of us have heard stories of AI being used to target and harm our communities. Parents fear for their children’s safety online during everyday activities, seniors face scam attempts that are nearly impossible to separate from reality, and all of us are just one bad actor away from having our identity manipulated and used without our consent. These deepfakes have the potential to trigger a cascade of reputational and financial damage, as well as emotional and psychological harm.   

 

The increasing sophistication of AI tools and the exploding number of deepfakes have created an impetus for a legislative response that allows our justice system to respond appropriately, and our Commonwealth has an urgent responsibility to act. Because we stand at the forefront of an evolving technology with uses and means that are yet to be fully explored, it is necessary to address the root of the issue: the platforms themselves.  

 

Isolated abuses of AI tools easily become a public harm because of how quickly and widely the generated content can be published via X, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. These companies reap enormous profits by holding our attention without discerning the quality of the material that holds it unless there is an impact to their bottom line. To help prevent the proliferation of deepfakes, our Commonwealth must affirm that those who generate, distribute, and host this content—platforms included—bear a responsibility for the damages caused. This bill will allow for Pennsylvanians who have been harmed by deepfake content to hold all parties involved accountable for their misconduct through civil action when they actively harm or fail to safeguard people’s identities on these sites. 

 

For decades, the tech industry has been allowed to set its own guardrails, and this has been to the public’s detriment. Our legal system must be updated to clarify the responsibilities that giant technology corporations have in safeguarding the digital public, and, when they fail to do so, there must be recourse for the public to hold them accountable and restitution for those who have been harmed. 

 

Please join me in cosponsoring this bill to update our legal system to keep pace with technology and create a path for Pennsylvanians to seek justice after they have been harmed.