§ 2C:21-17.7 — Findings, declarations.

New Jersey § 2C:21-17.7

• Jurisdiction: New Jersey
• Title 2C: THE NEW JERSEY CODE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Text

1. The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Technological advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in widespread accessibility to sophisticated "deepfake" technology, which can be used to manipulate audio and visual content to create deceptive audio and visual media depictions that often cannot be distinguished from reality. b. Digitally altered media generated with this technology can produce false and deceptive, but completely realistic and convincing, media depicting events that never happened, interactions that never took place, conduct that never occurred, and statements that were never made. c. While there are numerous valid and appropriate uses for this sophisticated technology, such as criticism, comment, satire, parody, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, it may also be used inappropriately to deceive, humiliate, or violate the privacy of individuals who are portrayed in deceptive audio and visual media without their consent. d. It is manifest that lawbreakers will use all available tools to subvert the law, and "deepfake" technology, which may be readily accessed through the Internet or computer software programs, can be a powerful tool to accomplish illicit ends. Utilizing "deepfake" technology, bad actors may engage in a broad range of criminal or unlawful conduct such as creating audio and visual media depictions of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation involving children or non-consenting adults, creating false, misleading, and misattributed political advertising and campaign materials, and targeting individuals and corporate entities for harassment, damaging reputations and ruining lives. Punishment for committing a crime using "deepfake" technology should be cumulative, as the impact of the underlying criminal conduct is amplified through the insidious use of "deepfake" technology as the means to break the law. e. With the readily available amplifiers of the Internet and social media, digital media can be both ubiquitous and enduring, and the harm to a person falsely depicted in a "deepfake" image or visual or audio recording can result in widespread and pervasive emotional distress, reputational damage, and indelible harm to that person's personal and professional relationships. f. There is a compelling State interest in fostering the appropriate use of "deepfake" technology and deterring the inappropriate application of this technology to commit illicit conduct in a way that safeguards the health, safety, and welfare of the public without unduly infringing on the First Amendment rights of content creators. Similarly, the State has a compelling interest in protecting the privacy and reputational interests of residents who might otherwise be falsely depicted through "deepfake" technology and in providing them a meaningful mechanism through which to obtain appropriate redress. g. While civil liability and enforcement may to some extent prevent the misuse of this technology in furtherance of criminal activity, the relative ease with which this technology may be accessed and deployed, measured against the magnitude of the indelible and long-lasting harms its use can inflict upon victims and their families, warrants more severe consequences to more effectively punish and deter the inappropriate use of "deepfake" technology. h. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that it is necessary and proper to establish robust specific criminal penalties to punish and deter the use of "deepfake" technology to generate or create works of deceptive audio or visual media for the purpose of attempting or furthering the commission of a crime or offense, or to solicit, disclose, or use a work of deceptive audio or visual media for that purpose, and by providing the aggrieved victims of such conduct a civil recourse by which they may seek appropriate recompense. L.2025, c.40, s.1.