Blumenthal & Hawley to Hold Oversight Hearing on Election Deepfakes

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, will convene a hearing on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 2:00PM titled “Oversight of AI: Election Deepfakes.” The Subcommittee’s fifth AI-focused hearing comes after deepfakes were used to impersonate President Biden to discourage voters from participating in the New Hampshire presidential primary in January.

“A deluge of disinformation, deepfakes and distorted voices threatens our democracy. We have the power, indeed obligation, to stop this AI nightmare. Our hearing will explore ready and real options— because this world of disinformation doesn’t have to be our future. In fact, it must not be,” said Blumenthal.

“Deepfakes are poisoning the public trust, especially around elections. Americans deserve to be able to go to the polls with confidence, not wonder whether every video clip or sound bite they see has been faked with AI. The Senate cannot wait to act,” said Hawley.

The hearing will include testimony from:

• Zohaib Ahmed, CEO and Co-Founder of Resemble AI;

• Rijul Gupta, CEO of DeepMedia;

• Ben Colman, CEO and Co-Founder of Reality Defender; and

• David Scanlan, Secretary of State for the State of New Hampshire.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law has jurisdiction over legal issues pertaining to technology and social media platforms, including online privacy and civil rights as well as the impacts of new or emerging technologies. Last May, Blumenthal and Hawley held their first hearing titled, “Oversight of AI: Rules for Artificial Intelligence” which included testimony from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, IBM Chief Privacy & Trust Officer Christina Montgomery, and NYU Professor Gary Marcus.

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