{"id":317,"date":"2024-03-13T11:40:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T11:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/press-releases\/democracy-leaders-introduce-solutions-to-curb-emerging-digital-threats\/"},"modified":"2024-03-13T11:40:04","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T11:40:04","slug":"democracy-leaders-introduce-solutions-to-curb-emerging-digital-threats","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/california\/press\/democracy-leaders-introduce-solutions-to-curb-emerging-digital-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Democracy Leaders Introduce Solutions to Curb Emerging Digital Threats"},"template":"","class_list":["post-317","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"CITED\u2019s 2024 legislative package would help regulate the dangers that AI, deepfakes, and disinformation pose to our democracy","featured_image":"","press_type":157,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7817}"],"related_issues":[100,102],"related_work":false,"location":3},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

CITED\u2019s 2024 legislative package would help regulate the dangers that AI, deepfakes, and disinformation pose to our democracy<\/span><\/i><\/h4>\r\nSACRAMENTO, Calif<\/b> \u2014 On Wednesday, the <\/span>California Initiative for Technology and Democracy<\/span><\/a> (CITED), a project of California Common Cause, <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> its 2024 legislative package alongside key legislators. Together, these democracy leaders aim to take the first steps in meaningfully protecting California\u2019s democracy and voters from one of its current greatest threats: disinformation turbocharged by generative AI and deepfakes.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cAI and disinformation are an existential threat to our democracy, and we\u2019ve reached a point of no return. Now is the time to act,\u201d said <\/span>Jonathan Mehta Stein, California Common Cause\u2019s executive director<\/b>. \u201cUsing an unbiased, independent, interdisciplinary approach, CITED and our legislative partners have developed a legislative agenda that gets at the heart of what is shaping up to be one of the great issues of our lifetime, while upholding free speech and respecting technological innovation.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nSince 2020, voters have seen disinformation pollute our politics more than ever, and now with AI-generated deepfakes becoming a routine part of our information ecosystems, the issue is rapidly intensifying. Deepfakes have already destabilized national elections in Argentina, Slovakia, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and the US presidential primary. Just as this problem is peaking, many technology and social media platforms are decreasing their investments in their trust and safety teams and walking away from any responsibility to address it. Voters are now left to pick up the pieces, not knowing what images, audio, and video they can trust.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCITED\u2019s work has been informed by research and thought leadership from <\/span>titans in tech, law, public policy, civil rights, civic engagement, and academia<\/span><\/a>, and influenced by successes and emerging ideas from the European Union, the White House, Congress, and states around the country. Independent of industry and with bipartisan leadership, CITED provides analysis and guidance divorced from private agendas and partisanship.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCITED\u2019s 2024 legislative package includes:<\/b>\r\n