The COPIED Act: Safeguarding Artistic and Journalistic Integrity in the AI Era
In a landmark move, a bipartisan group of senators has introduced a new bill designed to protect the rights of artists, songwriters, and journalists from having their content exploited by AI models without their consent. Named the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act (COPIED Act), this bill also seeks to enhance the identification of AI-generated content and combat the growing threat of harmful deepfakes.
Champions of the COPIED Act
The COPIED Act has been authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senate AI Working Group member Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Commerce Committee member Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). These senators have come together to address the critical issue of content misuse in the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.
Key Provisions of the COPIED Act
The bill mandates that companies developing AI tools must enable users to attach content provenance information to their digital works within two years. This provenance information, which is machine-readable, documents the origin of digital content such as photos, articles, and other media. Under the COPIED Act, content with attached provenance information would be protected from being used to train AI models or generate AI content without explicit permission.
Empowering Content Owners
The COPIED Act is designed to empower content creators, including journalists, artists, and songwriters, by giving them control over their work. It allows them to set terms for the use of their content, including seeking compensation, and grants them the right to sue platforms that use their content without permission or tamper with provenance information.
Establishing Standards for AI Content
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would be tasked with developing guidelines and standards for content provenance, watermarking, and synthetic content detection under the COPIED Act. These standards would help determine if content has been generated or altered by AI and trace the origins of AI-generated content.
Transparency and Control
Senator Cantwell emphasized the importance of transparency in AI-generated content in a press release. “The bipartisan COPIED Act I introduced with Senator Blackburn and Senator Heinrich will provide much-needed transparency around AI-generated content,” said Cantwell. “The COPIED Act will also put creators, including local journalists, artists, and musicians, back in control of their content with a provenance and watermark process that I think is very much needed.”
Broad Support from Artists’ Groups
The bill has garnered support from several prominent artists’ groups, including SAG-AFTRA, National Music Publishers’ Association, The Seattle Times, Songwriters Guild of America, and Artist Rights Alliance. These organizations back the COPIED Act as a necessary measure to protect the creative community from unauthorized AI usage.
Legislative Context and Future Prospects
The introduction of the COPIED Act comes amid a surge in legislative activity around AI. Last month, Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to hold social media companies accountable for removing deepfake pornography. In May, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer presented a “roadmap” for AI regulation, addressing issues from deepfakes in elections to national security.
Additionally, state legislatures have been active, with Axios reporting that 50 AI-related bills are introduced weekly. As of February, there were 407 AI-related bills across more than 40 states, a significant increase from the previous year.
Executive Action on AI
President Joe Biden issued an executive order last October to establish standards for AI safety and security, requiring developers to share safety test results with the government. However, former President Donald Trump has indicated he would repeal this order if re-elected.
Conclusion
The COPIED Act represents a significant step towards protecting the rights of creators in the age of AI. By establishing clear guidelines and giving content owners control over their work, the bill aims to ensure that the benefits of AI technology are balanced with the protection of intellectual property and creative integrity.