In early January 2023, a new law came into effect in China aimed at regulating “Deepfake” technology, which digitally alters pictures, video and audio to the point that it looks real, which represents a challenge in the field of combating misleading information.
Deepfake technology allows for replacing faces in a video with others or faking personal statements and making them appear very real.
This AI-based technology is very popular on social media, where it is used for entertainment.
For its part, The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), noted that deepfakes were “used by unscrupulous people to illegally spread false information, slander and impersonate others to commit fraud.”
last December, the Chinese authority confirmed that unregulated deepfakes pose a “threat to national security and the stability of society”.
The new law requires companies that provide deepfake services to obtain the identities of users, in addition, the law requires the services to use watermarks to indicate that the material in question has been subject to deep alteration to avoid “any confusion” that internet users may encounter.
China is usually the first country to issue laws aimed at regulating and controlling the use of new technologies, which some consider as a potential threat to the stability and strength of the Communist Party.
Last year, in an unprecedented move, several Chinese digital companies were required to hand over details of their algorithms to the authorities.
