California has banned political deepfakes during election season
theverge.comPropaganda will always exist in one form or another. State law is not going to change that or even put a dent in it.
The only decent option to fight propaganda is through the education system. The incoming generations should be armed with sharp critical thinking skills, common sense, and empathy (this one is especially important). There needs to be more demonstrative sessions in classrooms where students actively participate in distinguishing fake content from real ones (and specifically how they can deem it to be fake).
My kid's public school does an ok job at teaching the above skills on a surface level, but it comes off as an afterthought as opposed to a primary lesson. I wish they would take it to a more granular level and make it a primary aspect of education.
Sure, critical thinking skills are important, but how do we teach kids or ourselves to counter tech like deepfakes?
I always try to go to primary sources, but even that breaks down with a sufficiently advanced deepfake. What happens in a few years when there is no way for a human to distinguish deepfake from authentic?
So, fake news will continue to flow all over the world, but if you (un)intentionally share it from an IP in California then you are subject to a fine? News media can continue to pump out fake news without recourse? Who comes up with this stuff?
>Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 730, which makes it a crime to distribute audio or video that gives a false, damaging impression of a politician’s words or actions. The law applies to any candidate within 60 days of an election, but includes some exceptions. News media will be exempt from the requirement, as will videos made for satire or parody. Potentially deceptive video or audio will also be allowed if it includes a disclaimer noting that it’s fake. The law will sunset in 2023.
I don't see how they expect this to get past the courts.
It hardly matters. Even if the courts upheld it, it will be difficult to find the perpetrators, who could easily be in another country. And even if you manage to pin it on a political party or action group, the fine will be far, far smaller than the (perceived) gain at the polls.
Fines of $100,000 are trivial[1] on this scale -- and most fines are smaller than that. Even then, many just fail to pay them[2].
It's hard to know how much these things actually move the polls. But politics is both a game of inches and a game of winner-take-all: even a tiny nudge that puts you over the bar has enormous payoffs worth literally billions. So even if the courts managed to uphold this, nobody who would resort to this technique would be affected.
[1] https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190913/fec-fines-ohio-gop-10...
[2] https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/30/scofflaw-...
This will only stop a few American perpetrators.
Putin is running a total war against the west using propaganda as a primary weapon. Tens of thousands of people are putting up false websites and comments. They will not stop because of this law.