With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, ensuring that the works of content creators are not illegally used has become a global concern. Recently, a group of bipartisan senators in the US Senate proposed a new bill called the COPIED Act, aiming to simplify the verification and detection of AI-generated content, and to protect journalists and artists from unauthorized use by AI models.
Image Source Note: The image was generated by AI, provided by the image licensing service Midjourney
The COPIED Act, or the "Content Origin Protection and Deepfake Media Integrity Act," requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standards and guidelines that help prove content origin and detect synthetic content, such as through watermark technology. The act also requires the establishment of security measures to prevent tampering, and requires AI tools used for creative or news content to allow users to attach information about their origin, and to prohibit the removal of such information. Under this act, such content cannot be used to train AI models.
Content owners, including broadcasters, artists, and newspapers, will be able to sue companies they believe are using their materials without permission or tampering with certification marks. State attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission can also enforce the act, with supporters saying the bill prohibits anyone from "removing, disabling, or altering content origin information" in certain exceptions for security research purposes.
The COPIED Act represents the latest step taken by the Senate to understand and regulate artificial intelligence technology. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat of New York) has led an effort to create an AI roadmap for the Senate, but explicitly stated that the new law will be developed in various committees. The COPIED Act has the support of a strong committee leader, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (Democrat of Washington), and Senate AI Working Group member Martin Heinrich (Democrat of New Mexico) and Commerce Committee member Martha Blackledge (Republican of Tennessee) are also promoting the bill.
Multiple publishing and artist groups, including the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the Recording Industry Association of America, the News/Media Alliance, and the Artist Rights Alliance, have issued statements welcoming the introduction of the bill.
In a statement, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, said: "The ability of AI to generate stunningly accurate digital performers poses a real and immediate threat to the economic and reputational well-being of our members, as well as their autonomy. We need a completely transparent and responsible generative artificial intelligence and its content supply chain to protect everyone's basic rights to control the use of their faces, voices, and personalities."
Highlight:
🛡️ **COPIED Act**: A new bill designed to simplify the verification of AI-generated content and protect the rights of creators.
🔍 **NIST Standard Development**: Requires NIST to create standards and guidelines that can prove content origin and detect synthetic content.
📜 **Copyright Protection**: Content owners will have the right to sue companies for unauthorized use of their materials, and the bill prohibits the illegal removal or alteration of content origin information.
