Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4406 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4406
2	2	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
3	3	________________________________________
4	4	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 22, 2024.
5	5	The committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and
6	6	Cybersecurity, to whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill,
7	7	House, No. 72) of Jay D. Livingstone for legislation to establish a
8	8	Massachusetts state deepfake and digital provenance task force (including
9	9	members of the General Court) to protect against deep fakes used to
10	10	facilitate criminal or torturous conduct, reports recommending that the
11	11	accompanying bill (House, No. 4406) ought to pass.
12	12	For the committee,
13	13	TRICIA FARLEY-BOUVIER. 1 of 5
14	14	FILED ON: 2/6/2024
15	15	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4406
16	16	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
17	17	_______________
18	18	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
19	19	(2023-2024)
20	20	_______________
21	21	An Act establishing a task force on the use of deepfake and digital content forgery.
22	22	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
23	23	of the same, as follows:
24	24	1 SECTION 1.
25	25	2 (a) Definitions — The following definitions shall apply to this measure:
26	26	3 (1) “Election deepfake”, a deepfake that depicts a candidate, ballot question committee or
27	27	4political party with the intent to injure the reputation of the candidate or party or otherwise
28	28	5deceive a voter and that: (i) appears to a reasonable person to depict a real individual saying or
29	29	6doing something that individual did not say or do; or (ii) provides a reasonable person a
30	30	7fundamentally different understanding or impression of the appearance, action or speech than a
31	31	8reasonable person would have from an unaltered, original version of the image, audio recording
32	32	9or video recording.m
33	33	10 (2) “Deepfake” means an image, audio recording, or video recording of an individual’s
34	34	11appearance, speech or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of
35	35	12generative adversarial network techniques or other digital technology in a manner to create a
36	36	13realistic but false image, audio or video. 2 of 5
37	37	14 (3) “Digital Content Provenance” means the verifiable chronology of the original piece of
38	38	15digital content, such as an image, video, audio recording, or electronic document.
39	39	16 (4) “Digital Content Forgery” means the use of technologies, including artificial
40	40	17intelligence and machine learning techniques, to fabricate or manipulate audio, visual, or text
41	41	18content with the intent to mislead.
42	42	19 (5) “Task Force” means the Massachusetts State Deepfake and Digital Provenance Task
43	43	20Force established in Section 2.
44	44	21
45	45	22 SECTION 2.
46	46	23 (a) There is hereby established a “Massachusetts State Deepfake and Digital Provenance
47	47	24Task Force” on or before July 1, 2024, to evaluate all of the following:
48	48	25 (1) The proliferation of deepfakes impacting state and local government, Massachusetts-
49	49	26based businesses, and residents.
50	50	27 (2) The risks, including privacy risks, associated with the deployment of digital content
51	51	28forgery technologies and deepfakes on Massachusetts state and local government, Massachusetts
52	52	29businesses, and Massachusetts residents.
53	53	30 (3) The impact of digital content forgery technologies and deepfakes on civic
54	54	31engagement, including the use of deepfakes to influence or deceive a voter.
55	55	32 (4) The legal implications associated with the use of digital content forgery technologies
56	56	33and deepfakes. 3 of 5
57	57	34 (5) The best practices for preventing digital content forgery and deepfake technology to
58	58	35benefit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, local government, Massachusetts-based
59	59	36businesses, and Massachusetts residents.
60	60	37 (b) The Task Force shall consist of 11 members: 2 of whom shall be the chairs of the
61	61	38joint committee on advanced information technology the internet and cybersecurity, who shall
62	62	39serve as co-chairs; 1 of whom appointed by the Speaker of the House of representatives; 1 of
63	63	40whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of the
64	64	41executive office of technology services and security, or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the
65	65	42attorney general or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the ACLU of
66	66	43Massachusetts or a designee; and 4 members appointed by the governor; provided
67	67	44 (1). Three of whom shall be from private industry, with at least two having a
68	68	45 technical focus that includes digital content forgery, media manipulation, or related
69	69	46subjects.
70	70	47 (2). One of whom shall, in consultation with the Attorney General have a background in
71	71	48law.
72	72	49 (c) The deepfake task force shall take input from a broad range of stakeholders with a
73	73	50diverse range of interests affected by state policies governing emerging technologies, privacy,
74	74	51business, the courts, the legal community, and state and local government.
75	75	52 (d) The Deepfake and Digital Provenance Task Force shall develop a coordinated plan to- 4 of 5
76	76	53 (1) Reduce the negative impacts of digital content forgeries and deepfakes, including by
77	77	54exploring how the adoption of a digital content provenance standard could assist with reducing
78	78	55the proliferation of digital content forgeries and deepfakes;
79	79	56 (2) Investigate the feasibility of, and obstacles to, Massachusetts state departments
80	80	57adopting standards and technologies for determining digital content provenance;
81	81	58 (3) Investigate the feasibility of conducting a public, consumer education campaign to
82	82	59Increase the ability of internet companies, journalists, watchdog organizations, other relevant
83	83	60entities, and members of the public to meaningfully scrutinize and identify digital content
84	84	61forgeries and relay trust and information about digital content provenance to content consumers;
85	85	62 (4) Develop or identify mechanisms for content creators to do the following:
86	86	63 (i) Cryptographically certify the authenticity of original media and non-deceptive
87	87	64manipulations; and
88	88	65 (ii) Enable the public to validate the authenticity of original media and non-deceptive
89	89	66manipulations to establish content provenance.
90	90	67 (5) Evaluate appropriate constitutional considerations.
91	91	68 (e) On or before January 1, 2025, the “Deepfake and Digital Provenance Task Force”
92	92	69shall deliver a report to the Legislature regarding the potential uses and risks of deepfake
93	93	70technology in Massachusetts. The report shall be filed with the House and Senate clerks' office;
94	94	71and the Senate and House Committees on ways and means.
95	95	72 The working group’s report shall include: 5 of 5
96	96	73 (1) recommendations for modifications to the definition of digital content forgery and
97	97	74deepfakes;
98	98	75 (2) recommendations for the development and implementation of policies and procedures
99	99	76regarding the use of deepfake and digital content forgery technology;
100	100	77 (3) recommendations related to prohibitions and disclaimers on the use of election
101	101	78deepfakes and digital content forgery technology as it relates to deceptive or fraudulent
102	102	79depictions, in advance of an election, of a candidate, ballot question committee or political party;
103	103	80provided such recommendations shall include exemptions for news reporting on the deceptive or
104	104	81fraudulent depiction;
105	105	82 (4) recommendations for regulatory or legislative action, if any, including but not limited
106	106	83to, recommendations for amendments to existing statutes and regulations that may require
107	107	84updates in light of the proliferation of digital content forgery technologies and deepfakes.
108	108	85 (f) The members of the working group shall serve without compensation but shall be
109	109	86reimbursed for all necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.
110	110	87 (g) Upon the submission of the report, the Task Force shall sunset.
111	111	88
112	112	89
113	113	90
114	114	91