Election 'misinformation': NY AG Letitia James asks social media sites to protect voters from 'misuse'

New York state's Attorney General Letitia James is asking social media companies to clamp down on alleged misinformation after asserting that barriers to prevent "bad actors" have weakened.James reportedly sent letters to at least 10 tech companies such as Google, Meta, and OpenAI, whose predominant investor is Microsoft.The attorney general reportedly attempted to warn the companies about deceptive content related to the presidential election using artificial intelligence."While misinformation has been a concern in past elections, with the rise of gen AI, barriers that prevent bad actors from creating deceptive or misleading content have weakened dramatically," James said, according to ABC News.'Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law.'James also reportedly claimed that AI tools built by the popular platforms have become "increasingly popular and easy to use and misuse."The state official has reportedly requested in-person meetings with the tech companies to review steps they are taking to protect users from alleged misinformation but did not mention any obligations to comply with any requests.It is unclear whether these tech companies include Elon Musk's X platform. The report was blasted out as a syndicated news piece nationwide; however, the Walt Disney-owned company did not provide the entirety of the letter nor the full list of companies to which it was sent.The replicated articles all cited a video shared by Musk with an AI voice replication of Kamala Harris. The video prompted California Governor Gavin Newsom to threaten Musk with legislative action, but he only received mockery from the tech entrepreneur.The articles also cited robocalls that impersonated President Biden, which reportedly asked listeners to "save your vote" for November and avoid other primaries.White House complaints regarding "cheap fakes" were not cited, however, referring to claims from Democrats that the only reason Biden appeared enfeebled over the years was because of footage manipulated by right-wing agitators.It took just a couple of weeks after the complaints for Democratic donors, activists, and like-minded celebrities such as George Clooney to turn on Biden and suggest that he drop out of the race.Clooney called it "devastating" to reveal that Biden isn't the same Biden, mentally, of 2010 or even 2020."He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate [with Donald Trump]," he noted.Freedom of speech is facing unprecedented hurdles, especially in other parts of the world like the United Kingdom, where multiple arrests have been made for alleged online misinformation and hate speech.The commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police said that "we will come after you" even if alleged offenders are in other countries."Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law," the commissioner added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Aug 14, 2024 - 15:28
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Election 'misinformation': NY AG Letitia James asks social media sites to protect voters from 'misuse'


New York state's Attorney General Letitia James is asking social media companies to clamp down on alleged misinformation after asserting that barriers to prevent "bad actors" have weakened.

James reportedly sent letters to at least 10 tech companies such as Google, Meta, and OpenAI, whose predominant investor is Microsoft.

The attorney general reportedly attempted to warn the companies about deceptive content related to the presidential election using artificial intelligence.

"While misinformation has been a concern in past elections, with the rise of gen AI, barriers that prevent bad actors from creating deceptive or misleading content have weakened dramatically," James said, according to ABC News.

'Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law.'

James also reportedly claimed that AI tools built by the popular platforms have become "increasingly popular and easy to use and misuse."

The state official has reportedly requested in-person meetings with the tech companies to review steps they are taking to protect users from alleged misinformation but did not mention any obligations to comply with any requests.

It is unclear whether these tech companies include Elon Musk's X platform. The report was blasted out as a syndicated news piece nationwide; however, the Walt Disney-owned company did not provide the entirety of the letter nor the full list of companies to which it was sent.

The replicated articles all cited a video shared by Musk with an AI voice replication of Kamala Harris. The video prompted California Governor Gavin Newsom to threaten Musk with legislative action, but he only received mockery from the tech entrepreneur.

The articles also cited robocalls that impersonated President Biden, which reportedly asked listeners to "save your vote" for November and avoid other primaries.

White House complaints regarding "cheap fakes" were not cited, however, referring to claims from Democrats that the only reason Biden appeared enfeebled over the years was because of footage manipulated by right-wing agitators.

It took just a couple of weeks after the complaints for Democratic donors, activists, and like-minded celebrities such as George Clooney to turn on Biden and suggest that he drop out of the race.

Clooney called it "devastating" to reveal that Biden isn't the same Biden, mentally, of 2010 or even 2020.

"He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate [with Donald Trump]," he noted.

Freedom of speech is facing unprecedented hurdles, especially in other parts of the world like the United Kingdom, where multiple arrests have been made for alleged online misinformation and hate speech.

The commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police said that "we will come after you" even if alleged offenders are in other countries.

"Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law," the commissioner added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze

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Fibis I am just an average American. My teen years were in the late 70s and I participated in all that that decade offered. Started working young, too young. Then I joined the Army before I graduated High School. I spent 25 years in, mostly in Infantry units. Since then I've worked in information technology positions all at small family owned companies. At this rate I'll never be a tech millionaire. When I was young I rode horses as much as I could. I do believe I should have been a cowboy. I'm getting in the saddle again by taking riding lessons and see where it goes.