Alberta crafts laws to crack down on deepfake misinformation, exploitation

The Canadian province of Alberta is targeting deepfakes and misinformation with a new bill proposing amendments to four existing pieces of legislation, aimed at preserving election integrity.

According to a piece in the Edmonton Journal, Bill 23, tabled by Justice Minister Mickey Amery, would “prohibit the creation and distribution of fake media that might mislead voters.”

“We know that deepfake technology is going to continue to improve, and the distinction between what is reality and what is fake is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish,” Amery says.

Deepfakes that, for example, impersonate leaders and put words they didn’t say in their mouth, would be illegal under the amended law, which would cover the conduct or statements of a party leader, minister, leadership or nomination contestant, MLA candidate, the chief electoral officer, the election commissioner, Elections Alberta employees or election officers.

The prohibition is to apply at all times, and violations come with a maximum fine for individuals of $10,000 and $100,000 (about US$7,200 and US$72,000 respectively) for entities. Additional fines could be imposed for each day of non-compliance.

If passed, the bill would amend the Citizen Initiative Act, the Recall Act, the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act, and the Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act.

Alberta playing catch-up with neighbours on deepfake laws

Justice Minister Amery is working in tandem with Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, who is working on further legislation related to deepfakes. The CBC reports that Glubish is pushing for the law to allow individuals to sue people for sharing fake intimate AI images without their consent.

“We know that deepfake technology can be used in very harmful ways, and we want to make sure we’re protecting Albertans from those abuses,” Glubish says.

Under a 2017 law, victims of non-consensual sharing of intimate images can sue for damages and seek injunctions to prevent further distribution. But the images in question are real – explicit photos or videos. Glubish hopes to extend this to cover deepfakes. He’s aiming to have legislation ready by this fall.

Opposition parties have indicated tentative support for the bill. Some suggest that Alberta is lagging behind other provinces in the matter of deepfake laws; neighbouring Saskatchewan updated its rules in 2021 to cover images “altered in any way, made by any means.” Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec made updates in 2024.

Alberta Premiere Danielle Smith has also gone public with her concern about how developments in AI are affecting kids. She is reportedly consulting with school boards on potential limitations on the use of AI in schools. However, she appears to be an enthusiastic user of ChatGPT, which she tells the CBC has “really been very helpful for me to understand what’s going on in the world.”

Glubish says rules pertaining to the use of AI in schools would come under separate legislation than the deepfake bill.

Article Topics

Alberta  |  Canada  |  deepfakes  |  digital trust  |  elections  |  regulation