East County News Service

Image: AI facial generation; CC by NC via Bing

August 22, 2024 (San Diego) -- Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) introduced the Preventing Abuse of Digital Replicas Act (PADRA), landmark legislation to protect the voice, image, and likeness of individuals from being used in unauthorized commercial ways.

The recent rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a sharp increase in the number and sophistication of deceptive digital replicas being abused to mislead consumers. Such deepfakes were recently used to falsely portray actor Tom Hanks, country music star Lainey Wilson, and  Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla, as endorsing various products and services.

“AI is here to stay – and with it all the benefits and risks that are coming into view. We developed this legislation to give individuals the best opportunity to protect their image and likeness and stop its use without their permission for commercial gain,” said Rep. Issa, a Republican who represent portions of San Diego and East County.