A bill proposed in the state legislature would create a new criminal offense that targets the misuse of artificial intelligence and other digital tools to impersonate individuals for financial gain.
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A bill proposed in the state legislature would create a new criminal offense that targets the misuse of artificial intelligence and other digital tools to impersonate individuals for financial gain.
Senate Bill 483, introduced by the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, would establish “digital forgery” as a crime when someone creates and distributes realistic but fabricated audio or visual content that depicts a person without their consent.
Under the bill, a person could be charged with digital forgery if they intentionally create and disseminate a manipulated image, video or audio recording that they know or should have known is a digitally forged likeness, and do so with the intent to cause financial harm to another individual.
The bill defines a “digitally forged likeness” as media that is either partially or entirely generated by a computer system and appears virtually indistinguishable from a real depiction of a person’s image or voice to a reasonable observer. The content must also have been created without the consent of the person being depicted.
Violations would generally be treated as a Class A misdemeanor, but the charge could be elevated to a Class E felony if the offense is committed as part of a broader scheme.
The bill includes several limitations and defenses. For example, law enforcement officers would be exempt when creating or distributing such media in the course of official duties. A defendant also could raise an affirmative defense if they took reasonable steps to notify viewers or listeners that the content was digitally altered or fabricated.
The bill also states that internet platforms, telecommunications providers and other interactive computer services would not be liable for content created or shared by users, provided they did not knowingly participate in illegal activity.
If approved by lawmakers, the legislation would take effect Oct. 1.
The bill comes as lawmakers nationwide seek to address growing concerns about deepfakes and AI-driven impersonation scams that can be used to commit fraud or other financial crimes.
