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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that aims to protect voters and political candidates from deepfakes in time for the 2020 election.

AB 730, written by Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, prohibits distribution of doctored video or audio of a candidate “with the intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate” unless the media is clearly marked as fake.

(CN) – California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday meant to cut down on the use of deepfakes meant to disrupt elections, after a viral video was released earlier this year of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose image was manipulated so she appeared drunk in it.

Assembly Bill 730, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, prohibits individuals or groups from distributing deepfakes within 60 days of an election unless it also carries with it a disclosure statement that it has been manipulated.

SACRAMENTO — Ahead of what is expected to be a contentious election next year, California has made it illegal to distribute deceptively edited videos and audio clips intended to damage a politician’s reputation or deceive someone into voting for or against a candidate.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) – Shunning free speech concerns brought by civil liberties groups, the California Senate on Friday approved a bill meant to protect political candidates from deceptive social media videos known as deepfakes.

Inspired by a doctored video that made House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appear drunk during a speech and went viral, Assembly Bill 730 would give candidates the ability to sue people or organizations that share deepfakes without warning labels near Election Day.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign legislation that institutes penalties for nonconsensual digital sexually explicit videos, also known as “deep fakes.”

The legislation, Assembly Bill 602, targets companies and individuals who create and distribute the videos in California without the consent of the individual being depicted.

SACRAMENTO —  California would crack down on fake sex videos that often target celebrities under a bill approved Friday by the state Legislature that is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Assembly Bill 602 by Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) would give anyone depicted in a digitally altered sex video the right to sue the person who created it or anyone who intentionally shared it if there is reason to believe the person depicted did not consent to its release or creation.

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said during a press conference on Wednesday morning that Jewish Americans “must be included” in a controversial ethnic studies curriculum for high school.

“Jews are being attacked at this time in synagogues,” Thurmond said in the media room at the California Department of Education in Sacramento. “Acts of hate are happening against the Jewish people. They must be included.”

In a show of unity, 11 California lawmakers representing the Jewish and Latino legislative caucuses toured Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego on Aug. 9 after increasing scrutiny about conditions at the facility.

The legislators conducted interviews and met with detainees at the center, which is overseen by private prison company CoreCivic and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Opinion: Too few Bay Area students have access to computer science courses

Despite growing up under the shadow of Apple and Google, children aren’t learning essential skills

Marc Berman and Lisa Andrew

The Mecury News

August 11, 2019

What exactly is computer science, and why is it important to our children’s future?

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- There's a race to defuse a powerful political weapon: computer-generated fake videos. Researchers at UC Berkeley are leading the charge to fight the fake news technology.

Millions of people saw distorted video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, posted to social media in May. Simple edits to the video, made it sound like Pelosi was drunkenly slurring her words, when she was not.

"That really wreaks havoc on democracy, on society and our personal safety," said Hany Farid, a Computer Science Professor at UC Berkeley.