I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2395 

To combat the spread of disinformation through restrictions on deep-fake 

video alteration technology. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2021 

Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JOHNSON

of Texas, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER, 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE

of Wisconsin, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. RUSH, Mr. THOMPSON

of Mississippi, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 

and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To combat the spread of disinformation through restrictions 

on deep-fake video alteration technology. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending Each and 

5 Every Person from False Appearances by Keeping ExploiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2395.IH H2395

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1 tation Subject to Accountability Act of 2021’’ or the 

2 ‘‘DEEP FAKES Accountability Act’’. 

3 SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 1041. Advanced technological false personation 

8 record 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

10 (j), any person who, using any means or facility of inter11 state or foreign commerce, produces an advanced techno12 logical false personation record with the intent to dis13 tribute such record over the internet or knowledge that 

14 such record shall be so distributed, shall ensure such 

15 record, complies with— 

16 ‘‘(1) the watermark requirement under sub17 section (b); and 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) in the case of an audiovisual record, 

19 the disclosure requirements under subsection (c); 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a visual record, the disclo21 sure requirements under subsection (d); or 

22 ‘‘(C) in the case of an audio record, the disclo23 sure requirements under subsection (e). 

24 ‘‘(b) DIGITAL WATERMARK.—Any advanced techno25 logical false personation record which contains a moving 


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1 visual element shall contain an embedded digital water2 mark clearly identifying such record as containing altered 

3 audio or visual elements. 

4 ‘‘(c) AUDIOVISUAL DISCLOSURE.—Any advanced 

5 technological false personation records containing both an 

6 audio and a visual element shall include— 

7 ‘‘(1) not less than 1 clearly articulated verbal 

8 statement that identifies the record as containing al9 tered audio and visual elements, and a concise de10 scription of the extent of such alteration; and 

11 ‘‘(2) an unobscured written statement in clearly 

12 readable text appearing at the bottom of the image 

13 throughout the duration of the visual element that 

14 identifies the record as containing altered audio and 

15 visual elements, and a concise description of the ex16 tent of such alteration. 

17 ‘‘(d) VISUAL DISCLOSURE.—Any advanced techno18 logical false personation records exclusively containing a 

19 visual element shall include an unobscured written state20 ment in clearly readable text appearing at the bottom of 

21 the image throughout the duration of the visual element 

22 that identifies the record as containing altered visual ele23 ments, and a concise description of the extent of such al24 teration. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AUDIO DISCLOSURE.—Any advanced techno2 logical false personation records exclusively containing an 

3 audio element shall include, at the beginning of such 

4 record, a clearly articulated verbal statement that identi5 fies the record as containing altered audio elements and 

6 a concise description of the extent of such alteration, and 

7 in the event such record exceeds two minutes in length, 

8 not less than 1 additional clearly articulated verbal state9 ment and additional concise description at some interval 

10 during each two-minute period thereafter. 

11 ‘‘(f) PENALTY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—Whoever 

14 knowingly violates subsection (a)— 

15 ‘‘(i) with the intent to humiliate or 

16 otherwise harass the person falsely exhib17 ited, provided the advanced technological 

18 false personation record contains sexual 

19 content of a visual nature and appears to 

20 feature such person engaging in such sex21 ual acts or in a state of nudity; 

22 ‘‘(ii) with the intent to cause violence 

23 or physical harm, incite armed or diplo24 matic conflict, or interfere in an official 

25 proceeding, including an election, provided 


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1 the advanced technological false 

2 personation record did in fact pose a cred3 ible threat of instigating or advancing 

4 such; 

5 ‘‘(iii) in the course of criminal conduct 

6 related to fraud, including securities fraud 

7 and wire fraud, false personation, or iden8 tity theft; or 

9 ‘‘(iv) by a foreign power, or an agent 

10 thereof, with the intent of influencing a do11 mestic public policy debate, interfering in a 

12 Federal, State, local, or territorial election, 

13 or engaging in other acts which such power 

14 may not lawfully undertake; 

15 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for 

16 not more than 5 years, or both. 

17 ‘‘(B) ALTERING DISCLOSURES.—Whoever 

18 knowingly alters an advanced technological false 

19 personation record to remove or meaningfully 

20 obscure the disclosures required under sub21 section (a) with the intent to distribute such al22 tered record and— 

23 ‘‘(i) with the intent to humiliate or 

24 otherwise harass the person falsely exhib25 ited, provided the advanced technological 


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1 false personation record contains sexual 

2 content of a visual nature and appears to 

3 feature such person engaging in such sex4 ual acts or in a state of nudity; 

5 ‘‘(ii) with the intent to cause violence 

6 or physical harm, incite armed or diplo7 matic conflict, or interfere in an official 

8 proceeding, including an election, provided 

9 the advanced technological false 

10 personation record did in fact pose a cred11 ible threat of instigating or advancing 

12 such; 

13 ‘‘(iii) in the course of criminal conduct 

14 related to fraud, including securities fraud 

15 and wire fraud, false personation, or iden16 tity theft; or 

17 ‘‘(iv) by a foreign power, or an agent 

18 thereof, with the intent of influencing a do19 mestic public policy debate, interfering in a 

20 Federal, State, local, or territorial election, 

21 or engaging in other acts which such power 

22 may not lawfully undertake; 

23 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for 

24 not more than 5 years, or both. 

25 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—Any person 

2 who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to 

3 a civil penalty of up to $150,000 per record or 

4 alteration, as well as appropriate injunctive re5 lief. 

6 ‘‘(B) ALTERING DISCLOSURES.—Any per7 son who alters an advanced technological false 

8 personation record to remove or meaningfully 

9 obscure the disclosures required under sub10 section (a) with the intent to distribute such al11 tered record shall be subject to a civil penalty 

12 of up to $150,000 per record or alteration, as 

13 well as appropriate injunctive relief. 

14 ‘‘(g) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any living individual or af16 filiated corporate or other entity who has been exhib17 ited as engaging in falsified material activity in an 

18 advanced technological false personation record may 

19 bring a civil action before the appropriate Federal 

20 district court for damages under paragraph (2) and 

21 injunctive relief under paragraph (3) against a per22 son who violates subsection (a) or alters an advanced 

23 technological false personation record to remove or 

24 meaningfully obscure the disclosures required under 

25 subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(2) DAMAGES.—Damages shall consist of the 

2 greater of— 

3 ‘‘(A) actual damages suffered by the living 

4 person or the affiliated corporation or entity, 

5 and any additional substantially derivative prof6 its of the person who violated subsection (a) or 

7 altered an advanced technological false 

8 personation record to remove or meaningfully 

9 obscure the disclosures required under sub10 section (a); 

11 ‘‘(B) $50,000 per record, if the living per12 son or affiliated corporation or entity experi13 enced a perceptible individual harm or faced a 

14 tangible risk of experiencing such; 

15 ‘‘(C) $100,000 per record, if the living per16 son or affiliated corporation or entity experi17 enced a perceptible individual harm or faced a 

18 tangible risk of experiencing such and the 

19 record purported to depict extreme or out20 rageous conduct by the living person; or 

21 ‘‘(D) $150,000 per record, if the advanced 

22 technological false personation record contains 

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1 son falsely depicted as engaging in such sexual 

2 acts or in a state of nudity. 

3 ‘‘(3) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Injunctive relief 

4 under this subsection shall include mandated compli5 ance with the requirements described in subsection 

6 (a). 

7 ‘‘(h) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL ACTIONS.—In pursuing criminal 

9 or civil penalties under this Act, Federal authorities 

10 shall, to the extent practicable, consult with living 

11 persons exhibited as engaging in falsified material 

12 activity in advanced technological false personation 

13 records regarding measures such authorities can rea14 sonably undertake to protect their privacy and mini15 mize additional public viewings of such records. 

16 ‘‘(2) PRIVATE ACTIONS.—Private actions 

17 brought under subsection (g), upon petition of the 

18 plaintiff, shall be permitted to be filed under seal if 

19 such plaintiff can demonstrate a reasonable likeli20 hood that the creation of public records regarding 

21 the advanced technological false personation record 

22 would result in embarrassing or otherwise harmful 

23 publicization of the falsified material activity in an 

24 advanced technological false personation record. 

25 ‘‘(i) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted 

2 as authorizing the production of an advanced tech3 nological false personation record which includes dis4 closures if such record is otherwise prohibited by law 

5 or regulation. 

6 ‘‘(2) The word ‘advanced’ within the term ‘ad7 vanced technological false personation record’ shall 

8 not be interpreted as narrowing the definition of 

9 such term. 

10 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted 

11 as a defense against, or as preempting or limiting, 

12 any Federal, State, local, or territorial laws, regula13 tions, or policies that prohibit, impose more strin14 gent standards in relation to, or provide additional 

15 or alternative remedies or damages in relation to, 

16 the production or distribution of advanced techno17 logical false personation records, deep fakes, or re18 lated content, including criminal and civil laws relat19 ing to copyright, tortious conduct, and false 

20 personation. 

21 ‘‘(j) EXCEPTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DISCLOSURE.—The requirements under 

23 subsections (c), (d), and (e) shall not apply with re24 spect to any advanced technological false personation 

25 record— 


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1 ‘‘(A) containing alternative disclosures re2 garding the falsity of the exhibited material ac3 tivities which a reasonable person would deem 

4 to be more prominent than those required 

5 under subsection (c), (d), or (e), as the case 

6 may be; 

7 ‘‘(B) during the process of producing such 

8 record, provided the ultimately distributed 

9 record is in compliance; 

10 ‘‘(C) which primarily contains images or 

11 sound recordings of actual persons, such as per12 forming artists, and have not been substantially 

13 digitally modified; 

14 ‘‘(D) created in connection with editing a 

15 motion picture, television, music, or similar pro16 duction or creating a derivative production 

17 thereof, the original content of which was cre18 ated prior to the enactment of this Act, in 

19 which the person appearing provided consent to 

20 their original appearance; 

21 ‘‘(E) appearing in a context such that a 

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1 ments, or fictionalized radio, television, or mo2 tion picture programming; or 

3 ‘‘(F) produced by an officer or employee of 

4 the United States, or under the authority there5 of, in furtherance of public safety or national 

6 security. 

7 ‘‘(2) WATERMARK.—The watermark require8 ment under subsection (b) shall not apply with re9 spect to any class of advanced technological false 

10 personation records which the Attorney General de11 termines by regulation should be excluded from such 

12 requirement. 

13 ‘‘(k) ADVISORY OPINIONS, WAIVER, AND STAND14 ARDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY OPINIONS.—The Attorney Gen16 eral shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) establish a process by which any pro18 ducer of audio, visual, or audiovisual content 

19 may seek an advisory opinion regarding the le20 gality of their proposed production under this 

21 section; 

22 ‘‘(B) respond to such requests for advice 

23 not later than 30 days after the date of submis24 sion; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) not pursue enforcement action under 

2 this section against any producer who relied in 

3 good faith on such an advisory opinion. 

4 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Attorney General shall be 

5 authorized to grant, and shall establish and publish 

6 procedures to govern the issuance of, waivers from 

7 any requirements or liabilities under this section to 

8 additional categories of advanced technological false 

9 personation records upon petition of any producer 

10 thereof if such producer can demonstrate compliance 

11 with this section would impede their ability to en12 gage in otherwise lawful activities protected by the 

13 First Amendment of the Constitution. 

14 ‘‘(3) WATERMARK STANDARDS.—Not later than 

15 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, 

16 the Attorney General shall issue rules governing the 

17 technical specifications of the digital watermarks re18 quired under subsection (b) which stall include, if 

19 such is determined appropriate, a requirement for 

20 such watermarks to contain embedded metadata. 

21 ‘‘(l) VENUE.—Any action under this section may be 

22 brought, in addition to in any district otherwise described 

23 in section 1391 of title 28, in the district where or the 

24 person falsely depicted in the advanced technological false 

25 personation record resides. 


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1 ‘‘(m) EXTRATERRITORIALITY.—There is extraterrito2 rial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section 

3 if the defendant or the depicted person is a citizen or per4 manent resident of the United States. 

5 ‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ADVANCED TECHNOLOGICAL FALSE

7 PERSONATION RECORD.—The term ‘advanced tech8 nological false personation record’ means any deep 

9 fake, which— 

10 ‘‘(A) a reasonable person, having consid11 ered the visual or audio qualities of the record 

12 and the nature of the distribution channel in 

13 which the record appears, would believe accu14 rately exhibits— 

15 ‘‘(i) any material activity of a living 

16 person which such living person did not in 

17 fact undertake; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) any material activity of a de19 ceased person which such deceased person 

20 did not in fact undertake, and the exhi21 bition of which is substantially likely to ei22 ther further a criminal act or result in im23 proper interference in an official pro24 ceeding, public policy debate, or election; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) was produced without the consent of 

2 such living person, or in the case of a deceased 

3 person, such person or the heirs thereof. 

4 ‘‘(2) MATERIAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘material 

5 activity’ means any falsified speech, conduct, or de6 piction which causes, or a reasonable person would 

7 recognize has a tendency to cause perceptible indi8 vidual or societal harm, including misrepresentation, 

9 reputational damage, embarrassment, harassment, 

10 financial losses, the incitement of violence, the alter11 ation of a public policy debate or election, or the fur12 therance of any unlawful act. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEEP FAKE.—The term ‘deep fake’ means 

14 any video recording, motion-picture film, sound re15 cording, electronic image, or photograph, or any 

16 technological representation of speech or conduct 

17 substantially derivative thereof— 

18 ‘‘(A) which appears to authentically depict 

19 any speech or conduct of a person who did not 

20 in fact engage in such speech or conduct; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the production of which was substan22 tially dependent upon technical means, rather 

23 than the ability of another person to physically 

24 or verbally impersonate such person. 


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1 ‘‘(o) REPORTS.—The Attorney General, in coordina2 tion with other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a 

3 report to Congress 5 years after the date of enactment 

4 of this section, and 5 years thereafter, describing trends 

5 related to prosecutions and civil penalties pursued under 

6 this section, and recommending any updates to this sec7 tion necessitated by the emergence of new technologies. 

8 ‘‘§ 1042. Deep fakes victim assistance 

9 ‘‘(a) COORDINATOR FOR VIOLATIONS DIRECTED BY

10 FOREIGN NATION-STATES.—The Attorney General shall 

11 designate a coordinator in each United States Attorney’s 

12 Office to receive reports from the public regarding poten13 tial violations of section 1041 (relating to deep fake depic14 tions produced or distributed by any foreign nation-state, 

15 or any agent acting on its behalf) and coordinate prosecu16 tions for any violation of such section. 

17 ‘‘(b) COORDINATOR FOR FALSE INTIMATE DEPIC18 TIONS.—The Attorney General shall designate a coordi19 nator in each United States Attorney’s Office to receive 

20 reports from the public regarding potential violations of 

21 section 1041 (relating to deep fake depictions of an inti22 mate and sexual nature) and coordinate prosecutions for 

23 any violation of such section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PLAN AND GUIDANCE.—On the effective date of 

2 this Act, the Attorney General shall publish a report con3 taining— 

4 ‘‘(1) a plan to effectuate and enforce section 

5 1041; 

6 ‘‘(2) a description of the efforts of the Russian 

7 Federation and the People’s Republic of China, and 

8 such other states or groups as the Attorney General 

9 determines appropriate, to use deep fake technology 

10 to impact elections or public policy debates in the 

11 United States or other democracies; 

12 ‘‘(3) a description of the impact of intimate and 

13 sexual deep fakes on women and marginalized com14 munities; and 

15 ‘‘(4) in order to increase the likelihood of such 

16 prosecutions, official guidance to Federal prosecu17 tors regarding any potential legal concerns that may 

18 impede such prosecutions absent clarification.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 for chapter 47 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1041. Advanced technological false personation record. 

‘‘1042. Deep fakes victim assistance.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY FACILITATION. 

23 Any manufacturer of software, who in the course of 

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1 ing interstate or foreign commerce, which such manufac2 turer reasonably believes, in the context of their intended 

3 distribution of the product, will be used to produce deep 

4 fakes, as such term is defined in section 1041 of title 18, 

5 United States Code, as added by this Act, shall— 

6 (1) ensure such software has the technical ca7 pability to insert watermarks and disclosures of the 

8 nature described in such section into such deep 

9 fakes; and 

10 (2) include terms of use or other analogous dis11 closures with such software, which require the user 

12 of such software to affirmatively acknowledge their 

13 general awareness of their legal obligations under 

14 this Act. 

15 SEC. 4. IN REM LITIGATION AGAINST FOREIGN AND UN16 KNOWN DEFENDANTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—A living person, or an affiliated 

18 corporate or other entity substantially connected to such 

19 living person, exhibited as engaging in falsified material 

20 activity in an advanced technological false personation 

21 record, as such term is defined in section 1041 of title 

22 18, United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, 

23 and subject to parallel exceptions to those enumerated in 

24 section 1041(j) of such title, may file an in rem civil action 

25 against an advanced technological false personation 


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1 record, in the judicial district in which such living person 

2 or related entity resides, if— 

3 (1) the creator of such advanced technological 

4 false personation record is in violation of any provi5 sion in section 1041 of title 18, United States Code, 

6 as added by section 2 of this Act, for which a pri7 vate remedy is provided; and 

8 (2) the court finds that such living person or 

9 related entity— 

10 (A) is not able to obtain in personam juris11 diction over a person who would have been a 

12 defendant in a civil action in section 1041 of 

13 title 18, United States Code, as added by sec14 tion 2 of this Act; or 

15 (B) through reasonable due diligence was 

16 not able to find a person who would have been 

17 a defendant in a civil action under paragraph 

18 (1) by— 

19 (i) if practicable, sending a notice of 

20 the alleged violation and intent to proceed 

21 under this paragraph to the producer of 

22 the record; 

23 (ii) publishing notice of the action as 

24 the court may direct promptly after filing 

25 the action; and 


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1 (iii) complying with such other due 

2 diligence measures the Attorney General 

3 promulgates through regulation. 

4 (b) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The actions under sub5 section (a)(2)(B)(ii) shall constitute service of process. 

6 (c) JURISDICTION.—In an in rem action under this 

7 section, an advanced false personation record shall be 

8 deemed to have its situs in the judicial district in which 

9 the person falsely depicted as engaging in material activity 

10 resides. 

11 (d) REMEDIES.—The remedies in an in rem action 

12 under this paragraph shall be limited to a court order de13 claring there to be a substantial likelihood that the mate14 rial activity depicted in such advanced technological false 

15 personation record is false and lacking the watermarks 

16 and disclosures required under section 1041 of title 18, 

17 United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, 

18 and as appropriate at the discretion of the court, the for19 feiture by the producer of such advanced technological 

20 false personation record of profits directly derived from 

21 the production and distribution of such content. 

22 (e) ESTOPPEL AND ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—A 

23 court order under subsection (d) may not be used for pur24 poses of estoppel in subsequent litigation should the living 

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1 tions under other provisions of law. The in rem action es2 tablished under this Act shall be in addition to any other 

3 civil action or remedy otherwise applicable and any other 

4 jurisdiction that otherwise exists, whether in rem or in 

5 personam. 

6 (f) FEE WAIVER.—The Federal judiciary shall waive 

7 all filing fees for actual living persons pursuing private 

8 relief under this section, if such litigant provides a sworn 

9 certification that the primary purpose of such filing is 

10 reputational restoration. 

11 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General may pro12 mulgate regulations governing proceedings under this sec13 tion, or otherwise limiting the applicability of this section 

14 as such is determined necessary. 

15 SEC. 5. FRAUD AND RELATED ACTIVITY IN CONNECTION 

16 WITH AUDIOVISUAL AND BIOMETRIC IDEN17 TITY AUTHENTICATION. 

18 (a) OFFENSE.—Section 1028 of title 18, United 

19 States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or a 

22 false identification document’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

23 false identification document, or a false audio24 visual identification record’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or a 

2 false identification document,’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

3 false identification document, or a false audio4 visual identification record,’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘or a 

6 false identification document’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

7 false identification document, false audiovisual 

8 identification record’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘or a false 

10 identification document’’ and inserting ‘‘a false iden11 tification document, or a false audiovisual identifica12 tion record’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (c)(3)(A), by inserting after 

14 ‘‘a document’’ the following: ‘‘or a false audiovisual 

15 identification record’’; and 

16 (4) in subsection (d)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), insert after ‘‘let18 ters,’’ the following: ‘‘biometric indicators’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (7), insert after ‘‘other 

20 unique physical representation’’ the following: 

21 ‘‘including facial dimensions or characteristics, 

22 or visual imagery or content which appears to 

23 authentically depict any speech or conduct of a 

24 person who did not in fact engage in such 

25 speech or conduct’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (11), strike ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (D) in paragraph (12)(B), strike the pe4 riod at the end and insert ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(13) The term ‘false audiovisual identification 

7 record means’ any ‘deep fake’ which is an ‘advanced 

8 technological false personation record’, as such 

9 terms are defined in section 1041, used or attempted 

10 to be used by a person for the purpose of conducting 

11 actual activities while assuming the identity of an12 other person without such other person’s consent, 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(A) seeks to further any unlawful activity 

15 that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or 

16 that constitutes a felony under any applicable 

17 State, territorial, or local law; 

18 ‘‘(B) depicts obscenity or sexually explicit 

19 conduct, considering the extent to which the 

20 record appeals to the prurient interest, is pat21 ently offensive, and lack serious literary, artis22 tic, political, or scientific value; 

23 ‘‘(C) depicts fighting words, which by their 

24 very utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an 

25 immediate breach of the peace; 


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1 ‘‘(D) constitutes a call to imminent lawless 

2 action, and is likely, whether on its own or col3 lectively in connection with related records, to 

4 incite or produce such action; and 

5 ‘‘(E) depicts or constitutes other activities 

6 or speech that the Attorney General determines 

7 by regulation pose a credible threat to the na8 tional interests of the United States, which, as 

9 of the date of such regulation, have been deter10 mined by a Federal court to constitute an un11 protected class of speech under the first amend12 ment.’’. 

13 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendments 

14 made by subsection (a) may not be interpreted as impos15 ing any limitations on the applicability of section 1028 of 

16 title 18, United States Code, to any item which was cov17 ered by such section prior to the date of enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 6. FALSE PERSONATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 43 of title 18 of the 

21 United States Code is amended by adding at the end a 

22 new section as follows: 

23 ‘‘§ 918. Deep fake false personation generally 

24 ‘‘Section 911 through 917 of this chapter (relating 

25 to false personation of citizens of the United States, offiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2395.IH H2395

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1 cers, or employees of the United States, authorities mak2 ing arrests or searches, creditors of the United States, for3 eign diplomats, consults, or officers, 4–H Club members 

4 or agents, and Red Cross members or agents) shall be in5 terpreted to include those who produce, or substantially 

6 knowingly contribute to the production and unlawful use 

7 of, ‘deep fakes’ which constitute an ‘advanced techno8 logical false personation record’, as such terms are defined 

9 by section 2 of the Defending Each and Every Person 

10 from False Appearances by Keeping Exploitation Subject 

11 to Accountability Act of 2021 and subject to parallel ex12 ceptions to those enumerated in section 2(j) of such Act, 

13 of such classes of persons covered by this chapter.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

15 for chapter 43 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

16 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘918. Deep fake false personation generally.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. DETECTION OF DEEP FAKES. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—The Sec19 retary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the 

20 heads of other relevant Federal elements, shall establish 

21 a task force within the Science and Technology Direc22 torate, hereinafter referred to as the Deep Fakes Task 

23 Force, to— 


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1 (1) advance efforts of the United States Gov2 ernment to combat the national security implications 

3 of deep fakes; 

4 (2) as appropriate, research and develop tech5 nologies to detect, or otherwise counter and combat, 

6 deep fakes and other advanced image manipulation 

7 methods and distinguish such deep fakes or related 

8 forgeries from legitimate audiovisual recordings or 

9 visual depictions of actual events; 

10 (3) provide support, both administrative and 

11 scientific, to other Federal elements researching 

12 such technologies; 

13 (4) encourage efforts of the United States Gov14 ernment to adopt such technology; and 

15 (5) facilitate discussion and appropriate co16 operation between the United States Government 

17 and relevant private sector technology enterprises or 

18 other nongovernmental entities, including academic 

19 and research institutions, regarding the identifica20 tion of deep fakes or other advanced image manipu21 lation methods. 

22 (b) PRIVATE SECTOR COLLABORATION.—In the 

23 event the United States Government develops technology 

24 to reliably detect deep fakes and distinguish such from le25 gitimate audiovisual recordings or visual depictions of acVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:34 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2395.IH H2395

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1 tual events, the President shall, unless he determines such 

2 is contrary to the national interests of the United States, 

3 endeavor to make such technology available to appropriate 

4 United States private sector internet platforms, including 

5 social networks. 

6 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act and annually there8 after for a period of five years, the Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security shall submit an unclassified report, which may 

10 however contain a classified annex, to the Committee on 

11 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

12 the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

13 Affairs of the Senate describing— 

14 (1) the activities of the Task Force; 

15 (2) as appropriate, technological progress re16 lated to the detection of deep fakes; 

17 (3) new developments related to the national se18 curity threat posed by deep fakes or related image 

19 manipulation technologies, which shall include a de20 scription of any efforts of the Russian Federation 

21 and the People’s Republic of China, and such other 

22 states or groups as the Attorney General determines 

23 appropriate, to distribute unlawful deep fakes in the 

24 United States or other democracies; and 


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1 (4) related efforts of the United States to com2 bat and counter deep fakes or related image manipu3 lation technologies. 

4 (d) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘deep fake’’ shall have 

5 the meaning given such term in section 1041 of title 18, 

6 United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act. 

7 SEC. 8. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION. 

8 The Secretary of Homeland Security, on no less than 

9 an annual basis, shall provide the Committee on Home10 land Security of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af12 fairs of the Senate with a classified written notification 

13 and, upon request, a briefing regarding any known at14 tempts of foreign states to use deep fake technology to 

15 influence or otherwise interfere in an official proceeding 

16 within the United States, including an election. 

17 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 This Act shall enter into effect on the date that is 

19 one year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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