In an attempt to contain the harm caused by deepfakes, Spain’s government will impose hefty fines on corporations using AI-generated content without explicitly labelling it.
The government approved on Tuesday a bill laying out strict rules for content generated through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The legislation adopts guidelines from the European Union’s (EU) AI Act, which mandates strict transparency obligations on AI systems that are deemed high-risk, according to Digital Transformation Minister Oscar Lopez.
The minister remarked that AI is a powerful too that can improve lives, but it can be used to propagate disinformation and undermine democracy, too. Spain has now become the first country to enforce the EU’s rules, which are more nuanced and detailed than those in the United States (US).
The bill, however, needs approval from the lower house. Under the legislation, failure to explicitly label AI-content as such could constitute a “serious offence” and lead to over $38 million penalty or fine worth seven per cent of a company’s global annual turnover.
Besides criminalising deepfakes, the bill would also prohibit the categorisation of people by companies through their biometric identification with the use of AI, rating them based on their behavior or characteristics, and evaluating their eligibility for benefits or the likelihood of engaging in criminal activity.
The AI rules will be enforced by AESIA, a newly established AI supervisory agency. AESIA will not, however, take up cases related elections, data privacy, crimes, etc.
