Prof. Alan Rozenshtein Interviewed by Minnesota Lawyer on MN Legislation to Regulate Deepfakes

Professor Alan Rozenshtein was interviewed by Minnesota Lawyer on a recent piece of legislation passed in Minnesota that aims to regulated the use of deepfake technology. While the technology has been around since the 90's, recent leaps forward in AI have greatly accelerate the use and efficacy of deepfakes. With the technology being both easier to use and more powerful than ever, many are concerned that Deepfakes will be used maliciously, especially in the world of politics. Passing almost unanimously, the new bill penalizes individuals using deepfakes to influence an election, as well as generate non-consensual sexual content of individuals. While some have raised concerns over whether the bill may violate the first amendment, Prof. Rozenshtein was not so sure, stating, “[The legislation is] about elections, not about misinformation. I think that is different. It is much more limited. There’s still a First Amendment issue here because lies are protected under the First Amendment in many cases. But you clearly here have an intent to limit it to 90 days before an election. That is, I think, a factor that goes to the permissibility of this type of legislation.”