AI-focused COPIED bill would make removing digital watermarks illegal

Bipartisan group of senators presented a new bill to facilitate the authentication and discovery of AI-generated content and protect journalists and artists from having their work taken over by AI models without their consent.

Act on the Protection of Content Origin and Integrity in Edited and Deepfaked Media (ACT COPIED) It would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create standards and guidelines to aid prove the origin of content and detect synthetic content, such as through watermarking. It also directs the agency to create security measures to prevent manipulation and requires AI tools for original or journalistic content to allow users to include information about its origin and prohibit the removal of that information. Such content also could not be used to train AI models, under the bill.

Content owners, including broadcasters, artists and newspapers, could sue companies they say have used their content without permission or manipulated authentication tags. State attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission could also enforce the law, which proponents say prohibits anyone from “removing, disabling or manipulating information about the origin of content,” except for certain security research purposes.

It’s the latest in a wave of AI-related bills as the Senate has taken on the task of understanding and regulating the technology. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has led the effort to create an AI roadmap for the chamber, but he has made clear that modern laws will be developed in committees. The COPIED Act has the advantage of being sponsored by an influential committee leader, Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA). Senate AI Working Group member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Commerce Committee member Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are also spearheading the bill.

Several publishing and arts organizations issued statements praising the bill, including SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, the News/Media Alliance and the Artist Rights Alliance.

“AI’s ability to create astonishingly accurate digital representations of performers poses a real and present threat to the economic, reputational well-being and self-determination of our members,” SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. “We need a fully transparent and accountable supply chain for generative AI and the content it creates to protect everyone’s fundamental right to control the use of their face, voice and persona.”