Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Identifying Outputs 
of Generative Adversarial Networks Act’’ or the ‘‘IOGAN 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Research gaps currently exist on the under-
lying technology needed to develop tools to identify 
authentic videos, voice reproduction, or photos from 
manipulated or synthesized content, including those 
generated by generative adversarial networks. 
(2) The National Science Foundation’s focus to 
support research in artificial intelligence through 
computer and information science and engineering, 
cognitive science and psychology, economics and 
game theory, control theory, linguistics, mathe-
matics, and philosophy, is building a better under-
standing of how new technologies are shaping the 
society and economy of the United States. 
(3) The National Science Foundation has iden-
tified the ‘‘10 Big Ideas for NSF Future Invest-
ment’’ including ‘‘Harnessing the Data Revolution’’ 
and the ‘‘Future of Work at the Human-Technology
Frontier’’, in with artificial intelligence is a critical 
component. 
(4) The outputs generated by generative adver-
sarial networks should be included under the um-
brella of research described in paragraph (3) given 
the grave national security and societal impact po-
tential of such networks. 
(5) Generative adversarial networks are not 
likely to be utilized as the sole technique of artificial 
intelligence or machine learning capable of creating 
credible deepfakes and other comparable techniques 
may be developed in the future to produce similar 
outputs. 
SEC. 3. NSF SUPPORT OF RESEARCH ON MANIPULATED OR 
SYNTHESIZED CONTENT AND INFORMATION 
SECURITY. 
The Director of the National Science Foundation, in 
consultation with other relevant Federal agencies, shall 
support merit-reviewed and competitively awarded re-
search on manipulated or synthesized content and infor-
mation authenticity, which may include— 
(1) fundamental research on digital forensic 
tools or other technologies for verifying the authen-
ticity of information and detection of manipulated or
synthesized content, including content generated by 
generative adversarial networks; 
(2) fundamental research on technical tools for 
identifying manipulated or synthesized content, such 
as watermarking systems for generated media; 
(3) social and behavioral research related to 
manipulated or synthesized content, including the 
ethics of the technology and human engagement 
with the content; 
(4) research on public understanding and 
awareness of manipulated and synthesized content, 
including research on best practices for educating 
the public to discern authenticity of digital content; 
and 
(5) research awards coordinated with other fed-
eral agencies and programs including the Net-
working and Information Technology Research and 
Development Program, the Defense Advanced Re-
search Projects Agency and the Intelligence Ad-
vanced Research Projects Agency. 
SEC. 4. NIST SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH AND STANDARDS ON 
GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In-
stitute of Standards and Technology shall support re-
search for the development of measurements and stand-
ards necessary to accelerate the development of the tech-
nological tools to examine the function and outputs of gen-
erative adversarial networks or other technologies that 
synthesize or manipulate content. 
(b) OUTREACH.—The Director of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology shall conduct out-
reach— 
(1) to receive input from private, public, and 
academic stakeholders on fundamental measure-
ments and standards research necessary to examine 
the function and outputs of generative adversarial 
networks; and 
(2) to consider the feasibility of an ongoing 
public and private sector engagement to develop vol-
untary standards for the function and outputs of 
generative adversarial networks or other technologies 
that synthesize or manipulate content. 
SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE 
PARTNERSHIP TO DETECT MANIPULATED OR 
SYNTHESIZED CONTENT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the National Science Founda-
tion and the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology shall jointly submit to the Committee 
on Space, Science, and Technology of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation a report containing— 
(1) the Directors’ findings with respect to the 
feasibility for research opportunities with the private 
sector, including digital media companies to detect 
the function and outputs of generative adversarial 
networks or other technologies that synthesize or 
manipulate content; and 
(2) any policy recommendations of the Direc-
tors that could facilitate and improve communication 
and coordination between the private sector, the Na-
tional Science Foundation, and relevant Federal 
agencies through the implementation of innovative 
approaches to detect digital content produced by 
generative adversarial networks or other technologies 
that synthesize or manipulate content. 
SEC. 6. GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORK DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘generative adversarial net-
work’’ means, with respect to artificial intelligence, the 
machine learning process of attempting to cause a gener-
ator artificial neural network (referred to in this para-
graph as the ‘‘generator’’ and a discriminator artificial 
neural network (referred to in this paragraph as a ‘‘dis-
criminator’’) to compete against each other to become 
more accurate in their function and outputs, through
which the generator and discriminator create a feedback 
loop, causing the generator to produce increasingly higher- 
quality artificial outputs and the discriminator to increas-
ingly improve in detecting such artificial outputs. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 
2019. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 4355 
AN ACT 
To direct the Director of the National Science 
Foundation to support research on the outputs 
that may be generated by generative adversarial 
networks, otherwise known as deepfakes, and 
other comparable techniques that may be devel-
oped in the future, and for other purposes.