US SB1790: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (deepfake and machine-manipulated media provisions, Division E secs. 5709 and 5724)

In one paragraph

The FY2020 NDAA's intelligence division contains the first federal deepfake provisions. Section 5709 requires the Director of National Intelligence to report on foreign capabilities to produce machine-manipulated media and machine-generated text, and to notify Congress when a foreign entity deploys such media against U.S. elections or political processes. Section 5724 directs a prize competition of up to $5,000,000, run through IARPA, for technology that automatically detects machine-manipulated media (video, image or audio generated or substantially modified with machine learning). Other NDAA provisions are outside this entry.

Plain-English summary, written with AI assistance. The official text controls.

What it means for business

Mainly government reporting and a detection prize; researchers and companies building deepfake detection tools can compete for awards.

Key provisions

1. 1DNI report on foreign weaponization of deepfakes and machine-generated text (sec. 5709(a))
2. 2Notification to Congress of foreign deepfake campaigns aimed at U.S. elections (sec. 5709(c))
3. 3IARPA prize competition up to $5 million for deepfake detection technology (sec. 5724)
4. 4Statutory definition of machine-manipulated media (sec. 5724(d))
5. 5Reports on IC facial recognition use and IC AI initiatives (secs. 5708, 5711)

Latest legislative action

Dec 20, 2019. Signed by President December 20, 2019. Became Public Law No: 116-92.