Scoop: Resist rushing to new “deepfake” law, study finds

Government should be cautious about moving to new law for “deepfake” audio and video, a new Law Foundation-backed study released today says.

Co-author Tom Barraclough predicts that deepfake and other synthetic media will be the next wave of content causing concern to government and tech companies following the Christchurch Call. While it is tempting to respond with new law, the study finds that the long list of current legislation covering the issues may be sufficient.

Companion piece: Deepfake and the law - Expert Reaction

A new report funded by the Law Foundation cautions against rushing to develop new laws to respond to synthetic media. Instead, the authors say there is already a long list of laws that cover the issue, including the Privacy Act, Copyright Act and the Harmful Digital Communication Act.

The SMC asked experts to comment on the report and deepfakes more broadly.