MADISON – It is now illegal to distribute sexually explicit “deepfakes” without the consent of the person being depicted, under a bipartisan bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Oct. 3.
The new law, which takes effect Oct. 4, seeks to strengthen privacy protections as artificial intelligence becomes more advanced and accessible.
According to one of the authors of the legislation, Rep. Brent Jacobson, R-Mosinee, 32 other states have similar laws on the books.
Studies conducted by cybersecurity companies Deeptrace and Sensity AI have found that more than 90% of deepfakes found online are nonconsensual pornography, the majority of which target women.
Under existing law in Wisconsin, it is a felony to capture or distribute nude images of a person without their consent. The new law makes it a felony to publish or distribute a synthetic intimate representation (also known as a deepfake) of a person “with intent to coerce, harass, or intimidate that person.”
Additionally, the law sets a definition for “synthetic intimate representation” and bans making a reproduction of a private representation of a person without their consent.
Violators of the law will face up to 3 1/2 years in prison.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin enacts law criminalizing sexually explicit ‘deepfakes’