Chief elections official proposes legal changes to block deepfakes – Winnipeg Free Press

OTTAWA – Canada’s elections chief wants a ban on misrepresenting candidates and other key actors in the election process through non-consensual manipulation of their voices or images.

The proposed change to the Canada Elections Act is among several measures put forward by elections chief Stéphane Perrault to address the use of deepfakes and other artificially created content to deceive voters.

In an interview, Perrault said he “hoped to persuade” MPs to expand the electoral reform bill currently in a House of Commons committee to include some new elements.

Brazen interference tactics such as deepfakes have become part of public conversation in the United States, but in Canada they are still “a bit of a shock to the system,” he said.

“We must accept that any problems may arise during the election and be ready to talk about it.”

Perrault offers legislative proposals in a report on safeguarding threats to the electoral process that was recently submitted to both Parliament and a federal inquiry into foreign interference.

It is becoming easier to create synthetic images, video, and audio through AI-driven applications, allowing people to spread misinformation and create confusion.

This type of deepfake trick may involve replacing someone’s face in a video with a different person’s face and manipulation of that person’s voice.

“AI footage of people doing things they’ve never done, voices of people saying things they’ve never said or created videos of, could threaten democracy and make it harder for voters to know what’s real and what’s a deepfake,” Perrault’s report says.

“While the risks arising from the rapid development and availability of artificial intelligence are not limited to foreign interference, it is clear that foreign state actors can leverage the power of technology to create deepfakes to influence or undermine the electoral process.”

The report notes that a section of electoral law currently covering impersonation prohibits falsely representing oneself as an election chairperson, election official, candidate or representative of a party or riding association with the intent to mislead.

However, the report adds that the law does not cover a scenario in which someone manipulates the voice or image of a party leader or any other identified key player to create a deepfake.

The bill passed by the Parliament proposes to amend the provision on impersonation and misleading publications, explaining that the prohibitions apply regardless of the medium, form and place in which the false statement is made.

However, these minor adjustments “do not in any way address the threat of deepfakes,” the report states.

Perrault proposes that the impersonation provision be extended to false statements made using sound or image manipulation. He advocates the application of the relevant provisions outside the election period.

Perrault acknowledges that it is healthy for people to voice concerns about the electoral process or its integrity, even if the basis for their concerns turns out to be misguided. But he has been pushing for some time to outlaw false statements intended to disrupt the conduct of the election or undermine its legitimacy.

The report states that the current bill will include a provision to protect against the spread of false information, but the regulation does not go far enough to ban statements that aim to undermine the legitimacy of the election.