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- Aug 28, 2019
Senate Intelligence Authorization Act advances unanimously out of committee (archive)
The relevant text in the legislation is in Section 511. PROTECTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES DESIGNED TO VERIFY AUTHENTICITY OR PROVENANCE OF MACHINE-MANIPULATED MEDIA.
It sounds like you could get in trouble for creating open source software that removes AI watermarking and provenance metadata. Removing some words: "No person shall knowingly and with the... substantial likelihood of deceiving a third party... facilitate...the subversion of a technological measure designed to verify the authenticity, modifications, or conveyance of machine-manipulated media, or characteristics of the provenance of the machine-manipulated media, by generating information about the authenticity of a piece of content that is knowingly false."
But there is that part at the end that says "by generating information about the authenticity of a piece of content that is knowingly false". If you simply remove it without substituting in any false information, maybe you're in the clear. In other words, you facilitate the removal but you don't make any claims about the authenticity or origin of the AI-generated media, so you aren't defrauding anybody.
Maybe content will be algorithmically suppressed by social media if it doesn't conform to "voluntary" authenticity standards, creating an incentive for users to either play ball or generate the false information, opening themselves up to potential civil or criminal penalties.
This is something to keep an eye on. Note that there is a big exemption subsection for "libraries, archives, and educational institutions", which would include entities like the Internet Archive.
I'll advocate for the removal of watermarks all day every day. Am I going to prison? Let's see what the bill actually says.Provisions included:
* Protecting important voluntary investments in watermarking and content authenticity by AI firms by creating penalties for those that deliberately push removal of those voluntary protections.
The relevant text in the legislation is in Section 511. PROTECTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES DESIGNED TO VERIFY AUTHENTICITY OR PROVENANCE OF MACHINE-MANIPULATED MEDIA.
(b) Prohibitions.—
(1) PROHIBITION ON CONCEALING SUBVERSION.—No person shall knowingly and with the intent or substantial likelihood of deceiving a third party, enable, facilitate, or conceal the subversion of a technological measure designed to verify the authenticity, modifications, or conveyance of machine-manipulated media, or characteristics of the provenance of the machine-manipulated media, by generating information about the authenticity of a piece of content that is knowingly false.
(2) PROHIBITION ON FRAUDULENT DISTRIBUTION.—No person shall knowingly and for financial benefit, enable, facilitate, or conceal the subversion of a technological measure described in paragraph (1) by distributing machine-manipulated media with knowingly false information about the authenticity of a piece of machine-manipulated media.
(3) PROHIBITION ON PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR CIRCUMVENTION.—No person shall deliberately manufacture, import, or offer to the public a technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that—
(A) is primarily designed or produced and promoted for the purpose of circumventing, removing, or otherwise disabling a technological measure described in paragraph (1) with the intent or substantial likelihood of deceiving a third party about the authenticity of a piece of machine-manipulated media;
(B) has only limited commercially significant or expressive purpose or use other than to circumvent, remove, or otherwise disable a technological measure designed to verify the authenticity of machine-manipulated media and is promoted for such purposes; or
(C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person’s knowledge for use in circumventing, removing, or otherwise disabling a technological measure described in paragraph (1) with an intent to deceive a third party about the authenticity of a piece of machine-manipulated media.
(c) Exemptions.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in subsection (b) shall inhibit the ability of any individual to access, read, or review a technological measure described in paragraph (1) of such subsection or to access, read, or review the provenance, modification, or conveyance information contained therein.
(1) PROHIBITION ON CONCEALING SUBVERSION.—No person shall knowingly and with the intent or substantial likelihood of deceiving a third party, enable, facilitate, or conceal the subversion of a technological measure designed to verify the authenticity, modifications, or conveyance of machine-manipulated media, or characteristics of the provenance of the machine-manipulated media, by generating information about the authenticity of a piece of content that is knowingly false.
(2) PROHIBITION ON FRAUDULENT DISTRIBUTION.—No person shall knowingly and for financial benefit, enable, facilitate, or conceal the subversion of a technological measure described in paragraph (1) by distributing machine-manipulated media with knowingly false information about the authenticity of a piece of machine-manipulated media.
(3) PROHIBITION ON PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR CIRCUMVENTION.—No person shall deliberately manufacture, import, or offer to the public a technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that—
(A) is primarily designed or produced and promoted for the purpose of circumventing, removing, or otherwise disabling a technological measure described in paragraph (1) with the intent or substantial likelihood of deceiving a third party about the authenticity of a piece of machine-manipulated media;
(B) has only limited commercially significant or expressive purpose or use other than to circumvent, remove, or otherwise disable a technological measure designed to verify the authenticity of machine-manipulated media and is promoted for such purposes; or
(C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person’s knowledge for use in circumventing, removing, or otherwise disabling a technological measure described in paragraph (1) with an intent to deceive a third party about the authenticity of a piece of machine-manipulated media.
(c) Exemptions.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in subsection (b) shall inhibit the ability of any individual to access, read, or review a technological measure described in paragraph (1) of such subsection or to access, read, or review the provenance, modification, or conveyance information contained therein.
It sounds like you could get in trouble for creating open source software that removes AI watermarking and provenance metadata. Removing some words: "No person shall knowingly and with the... substantial likelihood of deceiving a third party... facilitate...the subversion of a technological measure designed to verify the authenticity, modifications, or conveyance of machine-manipulated media, or characteristics of the provenance of the machine-manipulated media, by generating information about the authenticity of a piece of content that is knowingly false."
But there is that part at the end that says "by generating information about the authenticity of a piece of content that is knowingly false". If you simply remove it without substituting in any false information, maybe you're in the clear. In other words, you facilitate the removal but you don't make any claims about the authenticity or origin of the AI-generated media, so you aren't defrauding anybody.
Maybe content will be algorithmically suppressed by social media if it doesn't conform to "voluntary" authenticity standards, creating an incentive for users to either play ball or generate the false information, opening themselves up to potential civil or criminal penalties.
This is something to keep an eye on. Note that there is a big exemption subsection for "libraries, archives, and educational institutions", which would include entities like the Internet Archive.
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