In a decisive move to combat the growing scourge of deepfake technology, Governor Gavin Newsom has ratified two pivotal bills, SB 926 and SB 981, set to fortify Californians against the nonconsensual spread of AI-generated, sexually explicit content, these new regulations were signed into law on September 19th and are slated to take effect starting January 1, 2025, as announced by the Office of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Authored by Senator Aisha Wahab, with substantial backing from legislative colleagues, the duo of bills target the digital dissemination of explicit images intended to cause emotional harm under SB 926, and mandate social media giants to institute reporting systems for illegal content under SB 981; the laws aim to patch up loopholes in the existing "revenge porn" regulations which previously left victims with scant legal terrain to traverse, "This change in law was urgently needed to close a serious loophole in California revenge porn law, which meant victims had no recourse and law enforcement had no tools to combat the nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes," District Attorney Gascón emphasized in a statement made by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
By establishing criminal penalties for the distribution of harmful AI-generated content, SB 926 reinforces law enforcement's capacity to tackle these digital transgressions, while its counterpart SB 981 leans on social media platforms to swiftly address and scrub nonconsensual explicit deepfakes, which "can cause severe trauma, lost educational and job opportunities, and even lead to suicide" as District Attorney Gascón elucidated, further highlighting the intensive damage this content can wreck on an individual's personal and professional sphere.
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