Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections for A Lasting Democracy Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

First of all, I thank Ms. Lofgren for her leadership and her courage and hard work in bringing this important bill to the floor.

My amendment to H.R. 4617, the SHIELD Act, would generally prohibit the use of so-called deepfakes within 60 days of a Federal election.

These digital photo, audio, and video forgeries are generated using artificial intelligence. They appear realistic and are intended to manipulate or deceive their audience.

This amendment also establishes criminal and civil penalties for the malicious use of deepfakes in Federal elections while providing necessary exemptions for broadcasting or publication of deepfake content by news media organizations in satire or parity and other appropriate cases.

As chairman of the National Security Subcommittee of the Oversight and Reform Committee, I can attest to the escalating warnings that we have received from U.S. intelligence community officials and national security experts regarding the use of these deepfake technologies as an emerging tool of foreign election interference.

During our recent hearing to examine election security, government and private-sector panelists testified about the capacity of deepfake technologies to ``weaponize'' false information on a massive scale. That is because it is already widely accessible, easy to use, low cost, and rapidly evolving.

In reference to the security of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, FBI Director Christopher Wray has stated that deepfake content is a ``topic of great concern,'' as Federal intelligence agencies combat the threat of election meddling by foreign adversaries that are intent on developing new ways to perpetuate malign influence operations.

According to the nonpartisan Council on Foreign Relations, deepfakes present ``disinformation on steroids'' and could easily be deployed to influence an election, spark violence, exacerbate societal divisions, and undermine other democratic institutions.

The Congressional Research Service similarly warns that hostile state actors could release digitally altered videos of government officials or candidates making incendiary comments or engaged in inappropriate behavior to erode public trust, degrade our public discourse, defame particular candidates, and sway elections.

The proliferation of deepfake technologies presents a serious threat to the integrity of U.S. elections, considering that our Nation's 17 intelligence agencies already determined that our most fundamental democratic process has come under attack by foreign adversaries. With high confidence, the U.S. intelligence community found that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign aimed at the 2016 election that included clandestine intelligence operations and blatant meddling by state-owned agencies, state-funded media outlets, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media trolls. The final report issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller augmented this assessment.

According to the ``2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community,'' our adversaries will continue refining their interference capabilities and add new tactics to dramatically alter the threat landscape for 2020 and future elections.

In the interest of enhancing election security, campaign law must adapt to these evolving technologies. A prohibition on the use of deepfakes in Federal elections is a great first step in the right direction.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment, although I am not necessarily opposed it.

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Mr. LYNCH. Madam Chair, I do appreciate the gentleman from Illinois' thoughtful support for this amendment.

I thank Chair Lofgren for her leadership again in bringing the SHIELD Act to the floor and working with me on this amendment.

I again urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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