FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 16, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: brian.phillips@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) released the below statement following the announcement of the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections at the 60th annual Munich Security Conference.

“This year will be the most consequential election year in world history. Over 4 billion people – more than half of the world’s population – will head to the ballot box. Over 40 countries will hold elections, including the U.S., which is poised to draw massive international attention in what looks to be a rematch of the 2020 presidential election. And yet, the mere scope of the amount of people voting this year is not the problem. The rise of deceptive artificial intelligence tools like deepfakes poses the most significant threat to democracy that the world has seen in a generation.

“This new Tech Accord is a welcomed step by some of the most prominent technology companies in the world, and it is a clear signal they understand that powerful AI tools have the potential to cause real and potentially irreparable harm. Unfortunately, these are only voluntary commitments with no meaningful, enforceable safeguards to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI tools. That’s why world governments, particularly the United States, must act quickly.

“I believe this presents a unique opportunity for both Republicans and Democrats to put aside their differences and come together for the sake of our democracy. This could be a defining moment for this Congress, and this may be the one unifying issue where we can band together to protect this nation and future generations of Americans to come.”

• In Congress, Rep. Clarke has led efforts to address the threat of misinformation and disinformation, deceptive AI-generated content, and establishing disclosure requirements for AI-generated content in political ads.

• In October, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) and Senator Klobuchar sent a letter to the CEOs of Meta Platforms, Inc. and X Corp., Mark Zuckerberg and Linda Yaccarino, respectively, seeking information on how their organizations are addressing AI-generated content in political ads hosted on their social media platforms.

• In September, Rep. Clarke and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) introduced the DEEPFAKES Accountability Actto require creators to digitally watermark deepfake content. This legislation would also make it a crime to fail to identify malicious deepfakes, including deepfakes depicting sexual content, related to criminal conduct, used to incite violence, and related to foreign interference in an election.

• In May, Rep. Clarke introduced the REAL Political Ads Actwhich would require a disclaimer on political ads that use images or video generated by artificial intelligence. Companion legislation is led in the U.S. Senate by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

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