COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – As AI becomes more popular, there is a rising concern about “deepfakes.” A deepfake is a “convincing image, video or audio hoax,” created using AI that impersonates someone or makes up an event that never happened.  

At the Ohio Statehouse, Representatives Brett Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) just introduced House Bill 367 to address issues that may arise with the new technology.

“In my day to day I see how important people’s name image and likeness and the copyright there is within it,” Mathews said.  

Mathews said the intent of the bill is to make sure everyone, not just high-profile people, is protected. Right now, Mathews said functionally, the only way one can go after someone for using their name, image or likeness (NIL) is if they’re using it to say you endorse a product or to defraud someone.

“I wanted to put every single Ohioan at the same level as our most famous residents from Joe Burrow to Ryan Day,” Mathews said. “There are a lot of things people can do with your name, image and likeness that could be harmful to your psyche or reputation.” 

The bill makes it so any Ohioan can go after someone who uses their NIL for a deepfake. With fines as high as $15,000 dollars for the creation of a malicious deepfake; the court can also order that a deepfake be taken down if it is malicious.  

“It creates a private right of action for us to go after those that are sharing, producing or creating these types of representations,” Mathews said.  

Congress has explored regulating AI technology but has not finalized anything, leaving it up to state governments for now.  

According to the Associated Press, five states have enacted laws requiring the labeling of deepfakes and specifically banning those that misrepresent political candidates. 13 others, including Ohio, have introduced a related bill.

And Mathews said deepfakes of political figures or someone like a financial analyst can be particularly harmful.  

“Whenever that can spook a market, whenever that can spook any type of disinformation in that space, we need to be able to protect that,” Mathews said.  

Mathews said the language still ensures first amendment rights will be intact.  

“We made sure that these types of carve-outs continue so that all of the First Amendment protections are there,” Mathews said.  

The bill does have a four-year statute of limitations to go after someone who uses someone’s NIL in a deepfake.