Bans on deepfakes take us only so far--here's what we really need

These initiatives are a great start and raise public awareness--but the devil will be in the details. Existing rules in the UK and some US states already ban the creation and/or dissemination of deepfakes. The FTC would make it illegal for AI platforms to create content that impersonates people and would allow the agency to force scammers to return the money they made from such scams. But there is a big elephant in the room: outright bans might not even be technically feasible. There is no button someone can flick on and off, says Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at the digital rights organization Access Now.