INDIANAPOLIS — State lawmakers are working to stop a growing problem online being used to embarrass and blackmail people.
House Bill 1047 would make it illegal to create and then send out “deepfakes,” pictures of real people manipulated with artificial intelligence to make them appear nude.
“Right now we don't have any protection for this,” said Courtney Curtis, Assistant Executive Director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, who testified in favor of the bill this week. “What makes this such an issue is that if you or I were to look at this image, there would be no way for us to tell that it was a faked image.”
Middle and high school students in New Jersey, Washington and Florida have already been targeted by this kind of thing. And Curtis said there have also been incidents closer to home.
During testimony, she pointed to a study from 2019 that found more than 14,000 deepfake victims in the United States. A year later, she said the number of victims had grown to over 100,000.
“If we don't put a stop to this, then this is going to be something that you your wife your daughter, any of those people could be a victim,” she told 13News.
Curtis said, if passed, the law would not only make it illegal for the creator to disseminate the material. It would also be illegal for anyone who receives it to pass it on.
“It makes it to where we can stop it in its tracks, instead of letting it spread like wildfire,” said Curtis.
Law enforcement officials say the problem with deepfakes doesn’t just lead to embarrassment for the victim. The FBI said victims have been blackmailed. Victim advocates say deepfakes can also lead to hiring problems for the victims as long as the images remain online.
The bill, written by Rep. Sharon Negele, R-Attica, is awaiting a hearing in the House of Representatives.