Given the proliferation of cases of deepfakesas the manipulation of images of people to produce false content with artificial intelligence (AI), the House of Representatives has before its consideration a bill that would criminalize that practice when it is used to produce intimate or sexual content.
He Senate Bill (PS) 760presented by the popular senator Ada Alvarez Conde and the New Progressive senator Angel Toledo Lopezwas approved by the Senate and referred to the House Legal Commission since November, without public hearings having yet been held or a report having been submitted.
The measure would amend Article 4 of Law 21 of 2021, known as “Puerto Rico Anti-Revenge Pornography Law”to criminalize the disclosure and publication of any explicit material of an intimate or sexual nature produced with AI.
Specifically, it provides that Unauthorized disclosure of sexual material generated with AI will be a serious crime, with a fixed penalty of three years in prison –which can be reduced to one year if there are extenuating circumstances–, that the threat of disclosing it will be a less serious crime, and if it is committed for the purposes of extortion or profit it would lead to eight years in prison, in addition to requiring sex offender registration in cases of recidivism.
The representative José “Che” Pérez Corderopresident of the chamber commission, stated that the analysis of the measure is advanced, but they are still waiting for comments from the Department of Justice.
“We already have it under analysis to conclude the report and, then, determine if we will present it to the plenary session soon. We are waiting for the presentation from the Department of Justice to then conclude the report and present it for the plenary discussion. I hope to be able to submit the report to be voted on within the commission in the next sessions, once we get back from recess,” said Pérez Cordero, referring to the days off granted on the occasion of the Easter week.
Pérez Cordero, of the New Progressive Partyunderstands that the project will have the votes to be approved, as it is a proposal that will offer the victims of these cyber acts a mechanism to “prosecute people who commit these crimes.”
“I don’t see any type of complication. I like to present the reports with the opinions of the agencies, and With what we received from the Senate, since some agencies that we wanted were still missing, it was important to have their opinion to then move on to the body’s consideration, but I don’t see any resistance, on the contrary,” mentioned the majority legislator.
“We have to adapt our legal statutes to the new technological aspects, and artificial intelligence, although it is an important tool that is here to stay and that we have to adapt to, but We also have to guarantee that there is the necessary safeguard so that people who misuse it have consequences for their actions.“said Pérez Cordero.
The representative Jose Aponte Hernandez He had planned to present legislation on the subject, but he indicated to this medium that he will first evaluate PS 760 and, if he understands that it needs amendments that are not considered, then he would present his proposal this month. As conceived, his measure would set fines against those who commit this crime and would grant victims the possibility of filing civil lawsuits for damages suffered as a direct consequence of photographic alterations.
“The project has not been filed, it is being evaluated in accordance with the established parameters discussed at the national level in Congress. We continue working on the matter, and we understand that, in April, we must have the appropriate project to file and that the conditions can be discussed,” said Aponte Hernández about the possibility of presenting his own measure if the final version of PS 760 does not contemplate economic penalties or add the right to file civil lawsuits.
Meanwhile, the senator Wilmer Reyes Berriospresident of the Senate Committee on Science, Technology and Artificial Intelligence and co-author of the project, was receptive to the possibility of the legislation receiving amendments in the sister body.
“The Senate of Puerto Rico has already approved the bill, where we included in the law what is known as revenge porn using deepfake. This project is already in the House, and it worries us. The Commission on Science, Technology and Artificial Intelligence is open to listen to your recommendations to create robust legislation”said Reyes Berríos, in a separate interview.
Last month, a case was reported at a school, in Santurcewhich linked two students, ages 16 and 17, victims of said practice for economic purposes by several classmates who altered their images with AI to sell them as pornographic content for $15 packages and distribute them through WhatsApp messaging.