Ahead of the upcoming US elections, Meta, the owner of Facebook, announced significant policy changes regarding digitally manipulated media on Friday. These changes aim to address the challenge of deceptive content produced by new artificial intelligence technologies.
Meta plans to introduce “Made with AI” labels next month for AI-generated videos, images, and audio shared on its platforms. This expands their existing policy, previously focused on a limited scope of manipulated videos. Additionally, Meta will apply separate and more prominent labels to digitally altered media considered to pose a high risk of deceiving the public on important matters.
This shift in approach means Meta will move away from solely removing manipulated content to keeping it accessible while providing viewers with information about its creation process. Previously, Meta announced a scheme to detect images generated using other companies’ AI tools, but did not specify a start date.
These labeling measures will apply to content across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The more prominent “high-risk” labels will be implemented immediately.
These changes come amidst concerns about the impact of new AI technologies on elections, especially the upcoming US presidential election in November. Political campaigns are increasingly using AI tools, prompting a need for clearer guidelines from platforms like Meta.
Earlier this year, Meta’s oversight board criticized the company’s existing rules on manipulated media as “incoherent” after reviewing a video involving US President Joe Biden. The video, which altered real footage, remained on Facebook despite concerns raised by the oversight board.
