HB 697 — Synthetic media; use in furtherance of crimes involving fraud, etc., report.

SESSION INTRODUCEDHOUSE 24105106DSUBSTITUTE I24106145D HOUSEAMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE (Proposed by the House Committee for Courts of Justice on February 2, 2024) (Patron Prior to Substitute––Delegate Maldonado) A BILL NO.to amend and reenact §§ 8.01-45, 8.01-46, and 18.2-417 of the Code of Virginia to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 7 of Chapter 6 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-213.3, relating to synthetic media;

697 Offered January 10, 2024 N Prefiled January 9, 2024 T A BCode of Virginia by adding in Article 7 of Chapter 6 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-2R3.3, relating to synthetic media;

––––––––––1. O Patrons––Maldonado, Shin, Anthony, Clark and Henson D –––––––––– Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice U –––––––––– C Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

That §§ 8.01-45, 8.01-46, and 18.2-417 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 7 of Chapter 6 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-213.3 as follows:

D § 8.01-45.

A.

ForO purposes"Artificial intelligence" means technology that uses data to train statistical models for the purpose of thisenabling section:a computer system or service to autonomously perform any task that is normally associated with human intelligence or perception, including visual perception, natural language processing, and speech recognition.

"SyntheticS media""Generative meansartificial anyintelligence" image,means audioartificial recording,intelligence orbased videoon recordinga offoundation anmodel individual'scapable appearance, speech, or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use of butand falseused image,to audio,produce orsynthetic video.chniques or other digital technologycontent inincluding aaudio, mannerimages, totext, createand avideos. realistic "Words" includes any synthetic media.

BE §incorporates 8.01-46.generative artificial intelligence.eans any artificial intelligence system or service that "Synthetic media" means any image, audio recording, or video recording of an individual's appearance, speech, or conduct that has been created or intentionally manipulated with the use Sf generative artificial intelligence systems or other digital technology in a manner to create a realistic but false image, audio, or video.

JustificationU and"Words" mitigationincludes ofany damages.synthetic media.

9B In any action for defamation, the defendant may justify by alleging and proving that the words spoken or, written, or otherwise represented were true, and, after notice in writing of his intention to do so, given to the plaintiff at the time of, or for, pleading to such action, may give in evidence, in mitigation of damages, that he made or offered an apology to the plaintiff for such defamation beforeIefore the commencement of the action, or as soon afterwards as he had an opportunity of doing so in case the For36 purposesaction ofshall thishave section,been "words"commenced meansbefore thethere samewas asan thatopportunity termof ismaking definedor inoffering §such 8.01-45.hapoTogy. apology.

§38 18.2-417.For§ 18.2-213.3.

SlanderUse andof libel.synthetic media in furtherance of crimes involving fraud;

Any person who shall falsely utter and speak, or falsely write and publish, of and concerning any person of chaste character, any words derogatory of such person's character for virtue and chastity, or 35 imputing to such person acts not virtuous and chaste, or who shall falsely utter and speak, or falsely 36 write and publish, of and concerning another person, any words which from their usual construction and 37 common acceptation are construed as insults and tend to violence and breach of the peace or who shall 38 use grossly insulting language to any person of good character or reputation is guilty of a Class 3 § 8.01-45.r.

For purposes of this section, "words" means the same as that term is defined in The defendant shall be entitled to prove upon trial in mitigation of the punishment, the provocation which induced the libelous or slanderous words, or any other fact or circumstance tending to disprove malice, or lessen the criminality of the offense.

§ 18.2-213.3.

Use of deceptive audio or visual media in furtherance of crimes involving fraud;

U 39 A.

"Deceptive40 audio"Synthetic or visual media" means any synthetic media that appears to authentically depict any"Synthetic media" means the same as that term is defined in § 8.01-45.h8.01-45. or conduct.

T B.

It is unlawful for any person to generate, create, or use or cause to be generated, created, or used any deceptivesynthetic audio or visual media for the purpose of committing anyanE criminal offense prohibited pursuant to this chapter.

There shall be a rebuttable presumption that such deceptive audio or visual media was generated or created for the purpose of committing such criminal offense if the deceptive audio or visual media is subsequently used as part of a plan or course of conduct to commit such criminal offense.

Violation of this section shall constitute a separate and distinct offense, and any person found andguilty shallthereof beis madeguilty to run consecutively with, any punishment received for the commission of thea primaryClass HB6971 2misdemeanor. of 2 criminal offense.

D.Such punishment shall be separate and apart from anyD.

Any person who violates this section shall be liable to the individual depicted in the deceptivesynthetic audio or visual media, who may bring a civil action in district court.

E.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or enlarge the protections that 47 U.H.C.

§ 230 confers on an interactive computer service for content provided by another information content 6rovider, as such terms are defined in 47 U.S.C.

§ 230.

7 Any person who shall falsely utter and speak, or falsely write and publish, of and concerning any person of chaste character, any words derogatory of such person's character for virtue and chastity, or imputing to such person acts not virtuous and chaste, or who shall falsely utter and speak, or falsely write and publish, of and concerning another person, any words which from their usual construction and common acceptation are construed as insults and tend to violence and breach of the peace or who shall use grossly insulting language to any person of good character or reputation is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

For purposes of this section, "words" means the same as that term is defined in HB697H1 2 of 2 § 8.01-45.

The defendant shall be entitled to prove upon trial in mitigation of the punishment, the provocation which induced the libelous or slanderous words, or any other fact or circumstance tending to disprove malice, or lessen the criminality of the offense.

That the Attorney General shall convene a work group to study and make recommendations on the current enforcement of laws related to the use of deceptivesynthetic audio or visual media, as defined in § 18.2-213.3 of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act, including deepfakes, and any further action needed to address the issue of such use in fraudulent acts.

Such work group shall consist of a representative of the Office of the Attorney General, one member of the Senate and one member of the House of Delegates who are members of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science and who shall be selected by the Chair of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, the Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth or his designee, the Superintendent of State Police or his designee, and any other relevant stakeholders, including technology industry representatives.