HB 358 — An Act relating to defamation claims based on the use of deepfakes; and relating to the use of deepfakes in electioneering communications.

or (2) material depicts [A DEPICTION OF] a part of an actual child under 18 years of age, or is a representation that is indistinguishable from an identifiable child under 18 years of age, who, by manipulation, creation, or modification, appears to be engaged in the conduct.

* Sec.

4.

AS 11.61.127(b) is amended to read:

(b) This section does not apply to (1) persons providing plethysmograph assessments in the course of a sex offender treatment program that meets the minimum standards under AS 33.30.011(a)(5);

or (2) an employee of an interactive computer service, Internet service provider, cloud service provider, or telecommunications network who, while acting in the scope of employment, possesses or accesses the material described in (a) of this section solely to prevent, detect, rort, or otherwise respond to the production, generation, manipulation, or modification of the material;

in this paragraph, "interactive computer service" has the meaning given in AS 15.80.009(f).

* Sec.

5.

AS 11.61.127(f) is amended to read:

(f) In this section, (1) "computer" has the meaning given in AS 11.46.990;

HB0358b -3- CSHB 358(JUD) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R (2) "identifiable child" means an individual who is recognizable as an actual child by the child's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristics, regardless of whether the individual depicted is no longer under 18 years of age.

* Sec.

6.

AS 11.61.129(a) is amended to read:

(a) Property used to aid a violation of AS 11.61.121 - 11.61.128 [AS 11.61.123 - 11.61.128] or to aid the solicitation of, attempt to commit, or conspiracy to commit a violation of AS 11.61.121 - 11.61.128 [AS 11.61.123 - 11.61.128] may be forfeited to the state upon the conviction of the offender.

* Sec.

7.

AS 12.55.125(i) is amended to read:

(i) A defendant convicted of (1) sexual assault in the first degree under AS 11.41.410(a)(1)(A), (2), (3), or (4), sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, unlawful exploitation of a minor under AS 11.41.455(c)(2), or sex trafficking in the first degree under AS 11.66.110(a)(2) may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of not more than 99 years and shall be sentenced to a definite term within the following presumptive ranges, subject to adjustment as provided in AS 12.55.155 - 12.55.175:

(A) if the offense is a first felony conviction, the offense does not involve circumstances described in (B) of this paragraph, and the victim was (i) less than 13 years of age, 25 to 35 years;

(ii) 13 years of age or older, 20 to 30 years;

(B) if the offense is a first felony conviction and the defendant possessed a firearm, used a dangerous instrument, or caused serious physical injury during the commission of the offense, 25 to 35 years;

(C) if the offense is a second felony conviction and does not involve circumstances described in (D) of this paragraph, 30 to 40 years;

(D) if the offense is a second felony conviction and the defendant has a prior conviction for a sexual felony, 35 to 45 years;

(E) if the offense is a third felony conviction and the defendant is not subject to sentencing under (F) of this paragraph or (l) of this section, 40 CSHB 358(JUD) -4- HB0358b New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R to 60 years;

(F) if the offense is a third felony conviction, the defendant is not subject to sentencing under (l) of this section, and the defendant has two prior convictions for sexual felonies, 99 years;

(2) sexual assault in the first degree under AS 11.41.410(a)(1)(B), unlawful exploitation of a minor under AS 11.41.455(c)(1), enticement of a minor under AS 11.41.452(e), or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit sexual assault in the first degree under AS 11.41.410(a)(1)(A), (2), (3), or (4), sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, or sex trafficking in the first degree under AS 11.66.110(a)(2) may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of not more than 99 years and shall be sentenced to a definite term within the following presumptive ranges, subject to adjustment as provided in AS 12.55.155 - 12.55.175:

(A) if the offense is a first felony conviction, the offense does not involve circumstances described in (B) of this paragraph, and the victim was (i) under 13 years of age, 20 to 30 years;

(ii) 13 years of age or older, 15 to 30 years;

(B) if the offense is a first felony conviction and the defendant possessed a firearm, used a dangerous instrument, or caused serious physical injury during the commission of the offense, 25 to 35 years;

(C) if the offense is a second felony conviction and does not involve circumstances described in (D) of this paragraph, 25 to 35 years;

(D) if the offense is a second felony conviction and the defendant has a prior conviction for a sexual felony, 30 to 40 years;

(E) if the offense is a third felony conviction, the offense does not involve circumstances described in (F) of this paragraph, and the defendant is not subject to sentencing under (l) of this section, 35 to 50 years;

(F) if the offense is a third felony conviction, the defendant is not subject to sentencing under (l) of this section, and the defendant has two prior convictions for sexual felonies, 99 years;

(3) sexual assault in the second degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the HB0358b -5- CSHB 358(JUD) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R second degree, enticement of a minor under AS 11.41.452(d), indecent exposure in the first degree under AS 11.41.458(b)(2), distribution of generated obscene child sexual abuse material under AS 11.61.121(d)(2), distribution of child pornography under AS 11.61.125(e)(2), or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit sexual assault in the first degree under AS 11.41.410(a)(1)(B) may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of not more than 99 years and shall be sentenced to a definite term within the following presumptive ranges, subject to adjustment as provided in AS 12.55.155 - 12.55.175:

(A) if the offense is a first felony conviction, five to 15 years;

(B) if the offense is a second felony conviction and does not involve circumstances described in (C) of this paragraph, 10 to 25 years;

(C) if the offense is a second felony conviction and the defendant has a prior conviction for a sexual felony, 15 to 30 years;

(D) if the offense is a third felony conviction and does not involve circumstances described in (E) of this paragraph, 20 to 35 years;

(E) if the offense is a third felony conviction and the defendant has two prior convictions for sexual felonies, 99 years;

(4) sexual assault in the third degree, sexual abuse of a mir in the third degree under AS 11.41.438(c), incest, indecent exposure in the first degree under AS 11.41.458(b)(1), possession of generated obscene child sexual abuse material, distribution of generated obscene child sexual abuse material under AS 11.61.121(d)(1), indecent viewing or production of a picture under AS 11.61.123(f)(1) or (2), possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography under AS 11.61.125(e)(1), or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit sexual assault in the second degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, unlawful exploitation of a minor, distribution of generated obscene child sexual abuse material, or distribution of child pornography, may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of not more than 99 years and shall be sentenced to a definite term within the following presumptive ranges, subject to adjustment as provided in AS 12.55.155 - 12.55.175:

(A) if the offense is a first felony conviction and does not CSHB 358(JUD) -6- HB0358b New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R involve the circumstances described in (B) or (C) of this paragraph, two to 12 years;

(B) if the offense is a first felony conviction under AS 11.61.121(d)(1) or 11.61.125(e)(1) [AS 11.61.125(e)(1)] and does not involve circumstances described in (C) of this paragraph, four to 12 years;

(C) if the offense is a first felony conviction under AS 11.61.121(d)(1) or 11.61.125(e)(1) [AS 11.61.125(e)(1),] and the defendant hosted, created, or helped host or create a mechanism for multi-party sharing or distribution of generated obscene child sexual abuse material or child pornography, or received a financial benefit or had a financial interest in a generated obscene child sexual abuse material or child pornography sharing or distribution mechanism, six to 14 years;

(D) if the offense is a second felony conviction and does not involve circumstances described in (E) of this paragraph, eight to 15 years;

(E) if the offense is a second felony conviction and the defendant has a prior conviction for a sexual felony, 12 to 20 years;

(F) if the offense is a third felony conviction and does not involve circumstances described in (G) of this paragraph, 15 to 25 years;

(G) if the offense is a third felony conviction and the defendant has two prior convictions for sexual felonies, 99 years.

* Sec.

8.

AS 12.55.185(16) is amended to read:

(16) "sexual felony" means sexual assault in the first degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, sex trafficking in the first degree, sexual assault in the second degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree under AS 11.41.438(c), unlawful exploitation of a minor, indecent viewing or production of a picture under AS 11.61.123(f)(1) or (2), distribution of child pornography, distribution of generated obscene child sexual abuse material, sexual assault in the third degree, incest, indecent exposure in the first degree, possession of child pornography, possession of generated obscene child sexual abuse material, enticement of a minor, and felony attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit those crimes;

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9.

AS 14.20.030(b) is amended to read:

(b) The commissioner or the Professional Teaching Practices Commission shall revoke for life the certificate of a person who has been convicted of a crime, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a crime, involving a minor under AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.460, AS 11.61.121, 11.61.122, 11.61.125 [AS 11.61.125], or 11.61.127, or a law or ordinance in another jurisdiction with elements similar to an offense described in this subsection.

* Sec.

10.

AS 15.80 is amended by adding a new section to read:

Sec.

15.80.009.

Deepfakes in electioneering communications.

(a) A person may not knowingly use a deepfake in an electioneering communication with the intent to influence an election.

(b) An individual who is harmed by an electioneering communication that violates this section may bring an action in the superior court to recover damages, full reasonable attorney fees, and costs from (1) the person who created the electioneering communication or retained the services of another to create the electioneering communication;

(2) a person who disseminates an electioneering communication knowing that the electioneering communication includes a deepfake;

or (3) a person who removes a disclosure statement described in (d) of this section from an electioneering communication with the intent to influence an election and knowing that the electioneering communication includes a deepfake.

(c) An individual who is harmed by an electioneering communication that violates this section may seek injunctive relief in the superior court to prohibit publication of the deepfake.

(d) It is a defense to an action under this section that the electioneering communication included the following disclosure statement:

"This (image/video/audio) has been manipulated." and (1) for visual media that included other text, the text of the disclosure statement remained visible throughout the entirety of the communication, was easily readable by the average viewer, and was in a font not smaller than the largest font size of any other text that appeared in the visual component;

CSHB 358(JUD) -8- HB0358b New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R (2) for visual media that did not include any other text, thedisclosure statement was in a font size that was easily readable by the average viewer;

(3) for a communication that consisted of only audio, the disclosure statement was read (A) at the beginning of the audio, at the end of the audio, and, if the audio was longer than two minutes in duration, at intervals interspersed within the audio that occurred at least once every two minutes;

and (B) in a clear manner and in a pitch that was easily heard by the average listener.

(e) An interactive computer service, Internet service provider, cloud service provider, telecommunications network, or radio or television broadcaster, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, is not liable under this section for hosting, publishing, or distributing an electioneering communication provided by another person.

This subsection does not prevent an individual from bringing an action under (b)(3) of this section for removing a disclosure statement.

(f) In this section, (1) "access software provider" means a provider of client, server, or other software or enabling tools that (A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;

(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content;

or (C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content;

(2) "artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input the system receives, how to generate outputs, including predictions, content, recommendations, and decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments, with different artificial intelligence systems varying in levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment;

(3) "deepfake" means any visual or audio media that is created, altered, or otherwise manipulated by artificial intelligence in a manner that (A) to a reasonable observer, appears to be an authentic record of an individual's actual speech, conduct, or likeness;

and HB0358b -9- CSHB 358(JUD) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R (B) conveys a fundamentally different understanding or impression of the individual's appearance, action, or speech than a reasonable person would have from the unaltered, original version of the individual's appearance, action, or speech;

(4) "electioneering communication" means a communication that (A) directly or indirectly identifies a candidate or political party;

(B) is disseminated through a mailing, a newspaper, the Internet, or broadcast media, including radio, television, cable, or satellite, to an audience that includes voters who will have the opportunity to vote on a candidate identified in the communication or on a candidate of a party identified in the communication;

and (C) when read as a whole and with limited reference to outside events, is susceptible of no other reasonable interpretation but as an exhortation to vote for or against a specific candidate;

(5) "interactive computer service" means an information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.

* Sec.

11.

AS 28.15.046(c) is amended to read:

(c) The department may not issue a license under this section to an applicant (1) who has been convicted of any of the following offenses:

(A) a violation, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a violation, of AS 11.41.100 - 11.41.220, 11.41.260 - 11.41.320, 11.41.360 - 11.41.370, 11.41.410 - 11.41.470, or 11.41.500 - 11.41.530;

(B) a felony violation of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree under AS 11.51.100;

(C) felony indecent viewing or production of a picture under AS 11.61.123;

(D) distribution of child pornography under AS 11.61.125;

CSHB 358(JUD) -10- HB0358b New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R (E) possession of child pornography under AS 11.61.127;

(F) distribution of indecent material to minors under AS 11.61.128;

(G) felony prostitution under AS 11.66.100(e);

(H) sex trafficking in the first, second, or third degree under AS 11.66.110 - 11.66.130;

(I) a felony involving distribution of a controlled substance under AS 11.71 or imitation controlled substance under AS 11.73;

(J) a felony violation under AS 28.35.030(n) or 28.35.032(p);

(K) distribution of generated obscene child sexual abuse material under AS 11.61.121;

(L) possession of generated obscene child sexual abuse material under AS 11.61.122;

or (2) who has been convicted of any of the following offenses and less than two years have elapsed since the applicant's date of conviction for the offense:

(A) assault in the fourth degree under AS 11.41.230;

(B) reckless endangerment under AS 11.41.250;

(C) contributing to the delinquency of a minor under AS 11.51.130;

(D) misdemeanor prostitution under AS 11.66.100(a)(2);

(E) a misdemeanor violation of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree under AS 11.51.100.

* Sec.

12.

AS 44.23.080(a) is amended to read:

(a) If there is reasonable cause to believe that an Internet service account has been used in connection with a violation of AS 11.41.452, 11.41.455, AS 11.61.121, 11.61.122, or 11.61.125 - 11.61.128 [OR AS 11.61.125 - 11.61.128], and that the identity, address, and other information about the account owner will assist in obtaining evidence that is relevant to the offense, a law enforcement officer may apply to the attorney general or the attorney general's designee for an administrative subpoena to obtain the business records of the Internet service provider located inside or outside of the state.

HB0358b -11- CSHB 358(JUD) New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] 33-LS1272\R * Sec.

13.

The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read:

APPLICABILITY.

The following sections apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of this Act:

(1) AS 11.61.127(a), as amended by sec.

3 of this Act;

(2) AS 11.61.127(f), as amended by sec.

5 of this Act;

(3) AS 11.61.129(a), as amended by sec.

6 of this Act;

(4) AS 12.55.125(i), as amended by sec.

7 of this Act;

(5) AS 12.55.185(16), as amended by sec.

8 of this Act;

and (6) AS 14.20.030(b), as amended by sec.

9 of this Act.

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