MPs & Lords Back Control AI’s Campaign To Stop Deepfake Creation

The Campaign To Control Deepfake Technology Is Gaining Momentum

A cross-party coalition of British parliamentarians from across the political spectrum are now supporting Control AI’s campaign to stop deepfakes. Our growing coalition ranges from the House of Commons and the House of Lords to the regional devolved assemblies, and includes multiple MPs from both major parties. The supporters include Sarah Owen, Anna Firth, Caroline Nokes, Stephen Timms, John McDonnell, Lord Fairfax and Baroness Foster, former first minister of Northern Ireland. The full list of supporters can be read here.

This growing and remarkably non-partisan support for legislation to tackle deepfake creation is coming at a time when the political salience and danger of deepfakes is escalating. In November an audio deepfake of London mayor Sadiq Khan that appeared to record him calling for remembrance day events to be delayed was widely circulated online - the mayor himself believes that these events nearly led to violent disorder. In December alone, over 100 fraudulent adverts featuring deepfakes of Rishi Sunak were found on Facebook. British public opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of deepfake regulation - a YouGov poll commissioned by Control AI found that 86% of the British public want a ban on deepfakes.

The issue is no less urgent in the United States. Following the circulation of an audio deepfake of President Biden during the New Hampshire primary, the Federal Communications Commission has updated its guidance to clarify that AI-generated phone calls should be prohibited under existing legislation. But even these responses from regulators won’t be enough to stem the upcoming tidal wave of deepfakes. Existing legislation leaves deepfake creation totally unregulated. To stop the damage of uncontrolled deepfake proliferation, we need extensive deepfake-specific legislation to regulate them at all stages of the supply chain.

Write to your MP or local representative here.