Senators move to create task force to counter ‘deepfakes’

The Senate advanced legislation on Wednesday to counter the spread of ‘deepfakes,’ or digitally manipulated images and videos, arguing they pose national security concerns.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee passed the Deepfake Task Force Act with broad support, which would create a task force within the Department of Homeland Security to reduce the spread and impact of deepfakes. It would do so by developing tools for online content creators to authenticate their posts and increase the confidence from civil society and industry leaders when pointing out deepfakes to consumers.