Creating and sharing deceptive AI-generated media is now a crime in New Jersey

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Creating and sharing deceptive AI-generated media is now a crime in New Jersey

2025-04-03 22:04 Last Updated At：22:31

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Creating and sharing deceptive media made with artificial intelligence is now a crime in New Jersey and open to lawsuits under a new state law.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Wednesday making the creation and dissemination of so-called deceptive deepfake media a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, and establishing a basis for lawsuits against perpetrators.

New Jersey joins a growing list of states enacting measures taking aim at media created using generative AI. At least 20 states have passed similar legislation that targets such media involving elections.

As of last year, governors in more than a dozen states had signed laws cracking down on digitally created or altered child sexual abuse imagery, according to a review by The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

New Jersey's law stems in part from the story of Westfield High School student Francesca Mani, who stood alongside the governor as he signed the bill this week. Mani said she became the victim of a deepfake video two years ago and was told that the only punishment for the person who created it was a short suspension because there were no laws against such media.

“Doing nothing is no longer an option,” said Mani, who pushed for the legislation and was recognized by Time last year as an anti-deepfake activist.

The measure defines a deepfake as any video or audio recording or image that appears to a reasonable person to realistically depict someone doing something they did not actually do.

In addition to prison time upon conviction, the law establishes civil penalties that would permit victims to pursue lawsuits.

Israel strikes tents near hospitals in Gaza, killing and wounding reporters

2025-04-07 17:51 Last Updated At：18:01

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel struck tents outside two major hospitals in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least two people, including a local reporter, and wounding another nine, including six reporters, medics said Monday.

Fifteen other people were killed in separate strikes across the territory, according to hospitals.

Israel has carried out waves of strikes across Gaza and ground forces have carved out new military zones since it ended its ceasefire with Hamas last month. Israel has barred the import of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid for well over a month as it seeks to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the truce agreement they reached in January.

A strike on a media tent outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis at around 2 a.m. set the tent ablaze, killing Yousef al-Faqawi, a reporter for the Palestine Today news website, and another man, according to the hospital. Six other reporters were also wounded in the strike.

The Israeli military said it hit a Hamas militant, without providing further information. The military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because it is deeply embedded in residential areas.

Israel also struck tents on the edge of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, wounding three people, according to the hospital.

Nasser Hospital said it received another 13 bodies, including six women and four children, from separate strikes overnight. Al-Aqsa Hospital said two people were killed and three wounded in a strike on a home in Deir al-Balah.

Thousands of people have sheltered in tents set up inside hospital compounds throughout the 18-month war, assuming Israel would be less likely to target them. Israel has raided hospitals on several occasions, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, allegations denied by hospital staff.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, rampaging through army bases and farming communities and killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 people, and are still holding 59 captives — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel has vowed to keep escalating military pressure until Hamas releases the remaining hostages, lays down its arms and leaves the territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will then implement U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle much of Gaza's population to other countries through what the Israeli leader refers to as “voluntary emigration.”

Palestinians say they do not want to leave their homeland, and human rights experts have warned that implementing the Trump proposal would likely amount to mass expulsion in violation of international law.

Netanyahu will meet with Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss Gaza and other issues.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem to call for an agreement to release the captives. Many fear that Netanyahu's decision to resume the fighting has put the remaining hostages in grave danger and hope Trump can help broker another deal.

“Now the moment of truth has come," said Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, addressing Netanyahu. “You are in the United States and you have to sit there with President Trump and close a deal so that everyone will be released home.”

Israel's military offensive has killed over 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and at its height displaced around 90% of its population.

This story has been corrected to show that Palestine Today is a news website, not a TV station.

Magdy reported from Cairo.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war