Texas is first state to ban political ‘deepfake’ videos

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by  Allie Morris Oct. 9, 2019

A candidate for office makes a startling admission in an online video. But is it real?

As fears over potential election meddling grow, Texas has become the first state to ban the spread of manipulative deepfake videos designed to sway the vote or hurt a candidate. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to alter videos — in a realistic way — to make it appear people said or did things they haven’t.

Their proliferation online is worrying Texas lawmakers, who approved a law this year to ban the spread of politically motivated deepfakes within 30 days of an election.

“Putting any type of limitation on speech is serious, we approached that cautiously,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola. “Because a deepfake video has such power, we realize it could be used for real harm in an election context.”

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/local/politics/article/Texas-is-first-state-to-ban-political-14504294.php