Becker bill aims to curb fraud involving AI deepfakes
Becker bill aims to curb fraud involving AI deepfakes
Publish Date: 2026-02-21 11:29:00
Source Domain: www.paloaltoonline.com
State Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, has introduced a bill in the California Senate designed to protect people from AI-related fraud and impersonation. Photo by Magali Gauthier from March 2, 2021.
Seeking to combat the increasing use of artificial intelligence for fraud and defamation, State Sen. Josh Becker introduced legislation on Feb. 19 that would raise penalties for scams involving deepfake technology and create new avenues for removing the offending images.
The impetus for Becker’s bill is rooted in cases where bad actors have used the technology to commit fraud or harm people’s reputations. In one case, a woman from Southern California lost her home and life savings when scammers used deepfake technology to impersonate the actor Steve Burton. The woman believed she was in a relationship with Burton, and transferred the money to the scammers.
In other cases, AI technologies, including xAI’s Grok chatbot, have been used to generate sexually explicit content of women without their permission. The digital replicas are highly realistic, making it difficult to discern what is real and what is AI-generated.
“Artificial intelligence should empower people and not be weaponized against them,” Becker said in a press release. “An algorithm [should not be] used to defraud others, damage their reputation or violate their dignity. The Digital Dignity Act ensures Californians have real protections and real remedies in the age of AI.”
According to Becker’s office, the Digital Dignity Act clarifies that impersonation with a digital replica is now punishable under existing defamation law. It also increases the penalties for people found liable of defamation or impersonation when using AI-generated content.
Finally, the law would require platforms that host AI-generated content to provide pathways for victims to remove unauthorized AI-generated replicas. Becker’s office explained that in cases where large…
