The Westchester County Board of Legislators by a vote of 16 to 0 has passed legislation making it a local crime to share digitally deceptive material with the intent to harm someone. The legislation regulates the use of materials created using artificial intelligence that are intended to subject victims to harassment, extortion, and sexual exploitation. It makes the use of images, audio and videos created with AI and without consent, including those mimicking a person’s voice, a crime.
“This is a true testament to what we can achieve when we work together for the greater good,” said the bill’s sponsor and chair of the Information and Cybersecurity Committee Legislator Judah Holstein, a Democrat who represents Eastchester, New Rochelle and Tuckahoe. “This is a critical step in protecting our community from the growing threats of AI and other emerging technologies being misused to deceive or harm our most vulnerable populations, especially seniors and youth.”
The legislature worked with the county attorney’s office as well as the office of the Westchester County District Attorney on the legislation.
The legislators noted that while so-called “deep fakes” may be used for commercial or satirical purposes, they can also be used to spread false information. “Deep fakes” may involve explicit fraud, such as impersonating another individual to access protected information, or place a person in a pornographic still or video image for the purposes of humiliating, harassing, or blackmailing that individual.
The legislators also noted that voices can be faked using AI and elderly people have been scammed out of money by crooks who use faked voices purporting to be their grandchildren who are in trouble and urgently need funds.
The legislators noted that a person may have claims of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false light under the tort laws of the New York state if a “deep fake” depicts a person in a false light that harms their reputation. New York state law also provides for a right of publicity claim, which protects individuals from having their name, likeness, or identity used without consent for commercial purposes, as well as a right of privacy claim, which further protects individuals from a “deep fake” involving pornography and other sensitive material. However, the legislators felt that more needed to be done to protect Westchester residents and that prompted passage of the legislation.
