HB 431 — An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in forgery and fraudulent practices, providing for the offense of unauthorized dissemination of artificially generated impersonation of individual.

Summary

Unauthorized Dissemination of Artificially Generated Impersonations or Deepfakes

Bill Text

• Printer's No. 0405 View text Current

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This bill introduces a new offense for the unauthorized dissemination of artificially generated impersonations of individuals in Pennsylvania.

• Title 18

  § 4122. Unauthorized dissemination of artificially generated impersonation of individual.

  This establishes a new legal provision addressing the unauthorized dissemination of artificially created impersonations.

• Title 18 § 4122

  (a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of unauthorized dissemination of an artificially generated impersonation of an individual if, with knowledge or reason to know or believe that the impersonation was artificially generated, the person disseminates an artificially generated impersonation of an individual without the consent of the individual.

  This defines the offense of unauthorized dissemination clearly, including the knowledge requirement.

• Title 18 § 4122

  (b) Grading.--An offense under subsection (a) is: (1) a misdemeanor of the first degree; or (2) a felony of the third degree, if committed with the intent to defraud or injure another person.

  This specifies the grading of the offense as either a misdemeanor or felony based on intent.

• Title 18 § 4122

  (c) Defense.--It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection (b)(1) that the person disseminated the artificially generated impersonation with the consent of the individual depicted.

  This provides a legal defense if the impersonation was shared with the individual's consent.

• Title 18 § 4122

  (d) Applicability.--A person may be convicted under this section if the victim or the offender is located within this Commonwealth.

  This establishes the jurisdiction for prosecution under this new offense.

• Title 18 § 4122

  (e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of the law enforcement officer's official duties.

  This exempts law enforcement officers from liability under this section while performing their official duties.

• Title 18 § 4122

  (f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Artificial intelligence." Includes any of the following: (1) An artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets. (2) An artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware or other context that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication or physical action. (3) An artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks. (4) A set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task. (5) An artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision making and acting.

  This section provides crucial definitions for terms used within the new legal context, particularly defining 'artificial intelligence' relevant to the offense.

• Title 18 § 4122

  "Artificially generated impersonation." A visual image that appears to show or represent an individual or an auditory vocalization that appears to resemble or represent an individual's voice that did not occur in reality and the production of which image or vocalization was substantially dependent upon technical means, including artificial intelligence or computer software, rather than the ability of an individual to physically mimic another individual.

  This defines 'artificially generated impersonation', clarifying the nature of the offense.

Action History

1. January 31, 2025

   Referred to COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY, Jan. 31, 2025

Sponsors

• Robert E. Merski · Primary
• Chris Pielli · Cosponsor
• Carol Hill-Evans · Cosponsor
• Kyle Donahue · Cosponsor
• Michael H. Schlossberg · Cosponsor
• Patrick J. Harkins · Cosponsor
• Melissa L. Shusterman · Cosponsor
• Benjamin V. Sanchez · Cosponsor
• G. Roni Green · Cosponsor
• Lisa A. Borowski · Cosponsor

Subjects