Brazil: Court Bans Deepfakes in Political Campaigns

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Facts

  • Brazil's highest electoral court has approved a resolution outlining rules for using artificial intelligence (AI) in political campaigning, including an absolute ban on AI-generated deepfakes, ahead of the October municipal elections.1
  • The use of chatbots and avatars to support election campaigns has also been restricted to prevent the simulation of interactions with candidates or any other real person. In addition, identification labels must be used for authorized AI or synthetic multimedia content.2
  • On Wednesday, Alexandre De Moraes, the Brazilian Supreme Court justice and the head of the country's electoral authority, warned that candidates disrespecting these rules could lose their right to run or have their mandate revoked.3
  • This comes as the rapporteur of a Senate bill that regulates the technology called for the electoral court as well as regional courts to regulate the 2024 elections based on current legislation. While the bill is expected to be put to vote in April, congressional analysis could take months.4
  • Since disinformation has been an issue in recent elections in the country, electoral officials are reportedly concerned that AI would further aggravate the problem as voters head to the polls to elect mayors and city councilors in over 5.5K municipalities this year.5
  • Deepfakes have gained attention worldwide recently, with US Pres. Joe Biden earlier this year being the target of digitally manipulated synthetic media, with his deepfake voice urging citizens not to vote.6

Sources: 1Forbes, 2Folha de S. Paulo, 3Reuters, 4Valorinternational, 5The Brazilian Report and 6EUobserver.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by NPR Online News. Online disinformation has long been a factor influencing the outcome of elections around the world. However, deepfakes may prove to be a game changer for democracies — particularly at the local level, as the collapse of local journalism makes it harder to check information and debunk false content. This resolution will help Brazilian electoral authorities address this threat.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Dazed. While AI has facilitated the spread of disinformation, the effect of such campaigns in influencing votes is less than typically assumed — especially in highly polarized environments such as the one in Brazil. And while it's right to say that AI can contribute to distrust in election results, overreacting with panic and alarmism about this technology can produce the same or an even worse outcome.