Physical Identity Protection Act

Senate office of the cor cetary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 AUG -4 A8:08 SENATE RECEIVED B: S. No. _ Introduced by Senator Francis G. Escudero AN ACT PROTECTING THE IDENTITY AND PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF INDIVIDUALS AGAINST THE WRONGFUL AND IMPROPER USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY, EXACTING ACCOUNTABILITY THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES EXPLANATORY NOTE The proliferation of powerful computing devices and artificial intelligence (AI) technology have fundamentally redefined modern-day communication and creative production, especially those used in the creation of AI-synthesized media contents. While this generative AI technology offers tremendous potential particularly in the fields of business, education and communications, it also presents a profound risk to individuals' rights, privacy and identity. With malicious intent and the help of AI and other similar technology, media content could be exploited in efforts to cause personal harm or undermine public trust. This bill seeks to mitigate, if not eradicate, such predicament by establishing legal protection against unauthorized use of one's physical attributes. It affirms the individuals' power over the commercial or public use of their physical attributes, prohibits its unauthorized use, and penalizes its unlawful generation, distribution, publication, use, or commercialization. These interventions provide the government with the wherewithal to address emerging threats, ensure accountability in the use of Al technologies, and promote creativity and innovation without compromising personal rights and liberties, legitimate speech, journalism and news coverage, academic and educational research, documentary and historical piece and other similar works. In light of the foregoing, the passage of the bill is earnestly requested. FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO

Senate Difire of the ceo retary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 AUG -4 A8:08 SENATE RECEWED BR S. No. — Introduced by Senator Francis G. Escudero AN ACT PROTECTING THE IDENTITY AND PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF INDIVIDUALS AGAINST THE WRONGFUL AND IMPROPER USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY, EXACTING ACCOUNTABILITY THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Physical Identity

2 Protection Act."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to

recognize, uphold, and protect the identity, dignity, and privacy of every Philippine citizen or resident. Towards this end, and in recognition of the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and related technologies capable of generating, replicating, 7 altering, synthesizing, or simulating human physical attributes, the State shall 8 recognize and safeguard the right of every person against unauthorized generation, distribution, publication, use, and commercialization of their personal physical attributes.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:

(a) Artificial Intelligence or AI shall refer to systems that display intelligent behavior by analyzing their environment and taking actions - with some degree of autonomy - to achieve specific goals, including, but not limited to, the generation, alteration or manipulation of audio, visual or audiovisual content;

(b) Consent shall mean freely and knowingly given, specific, informed indication of will, whereby a person agrees to the commercial or public use of his or her physical attributes: Provided, That consent shall be evidenced by written, electronic or recorded means: Provided, further, That consent may also be given on behalf of the person by an agent specifically authorized to do so; (c) Legal Basis shall refer to: (1) the express authority granted under existing law or treaty, or issued through an order of the court that allows the public use of a person's physical attributes in conducting lawful government activities, including, but not limited to: law enforcement operations, criminal investigations, disaster response, or interventions concerning public interest, public order, public safety, or national security; or (2) legal obligation contained in a valid and enforceable contract that expressly permit the commercial or public use of a person's physical attributes; (d) Media Content shall refer to any audio, visual or audiovisual content, including those that are, among others, wholly or partially generated, altered, or manipulated by Al or other similar technologies; (e) Physical Attribute shall refer to any observable, identifiable, and reproducible feature of an individual, including, but not limited to, facial features, body shape and structure, voice, speech patterns, mannerisms, fingerprints, signature, and other biometric identifiers or behavioral characteristics that may be replicated or simulated, in whole or in part, to represent or impersonate an individual in physical, digital, or audiovisual form;

Sec. 4. Coverage. - This Act shall apply to any natural or juridical persons who

create, generate, reproduce, duplicate, simulate, distribute, disseminate or publish an individual's physical attributes in any media content, regardless of the medium, platform, or point of access used.

Sec. 5. Right of Publicity. - Every natural person shall have the exclusive right

to exercise control over the public or commercial use of his or her physical attributes:

Provided, That the rights over the physical attributes of a deceased person shall be retained by his or her lawful heirs following his or her death: Provided, further, That the right of publicity shall be subject to the exemptions provided under Section 8 of this Act: Provided, finally, That such right shall subsist independently of, and in 5 addition to, any intellectual property or data privacy right that may be vested in or 6 conferred upon, or exercised by the individual concerned.

Sec. 6. Prohibited Acts and Penalties. - (a) Any person who shall commit the

unlawful act of creating, generating, reproducing, duplicating, simulating, distributing, disseminating or publishing an individual's physical attributes in any media content, without prior consent or legal basis, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of one (1) year to two (2) years, or a fine not exceeding Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 200,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court; (b) If the same unlawful act is committed with an intent to acquire financial gain or profit, the penalty shall be two (2) years to four (4) years, or a fine of at least Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 200,000.00) to Four Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 400,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court, taking into consideration the amount of and/or the manner by which such financial gain or profit is acquired by the offender. (c) If the same unlawful act is committed with an intent to facilitate or to commit crime or fraud, the penalty shall be four (4) to six (6) years imprisonment, or a fine of at least Four Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 400,000.00) to Six Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 600,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court, taking into consideration the gravity of and the manner by which such crime or fraud is facilitated or committed by the offender. (d) If the same unlawful act is committed with both intent to acquire financial gain or profit and to facilitate or commit crime or fraud, the penalty shall be six (6) years imprisonment to twelve (12) years, or a fine of at least Six Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 600,000.00) to One Million Pesos (Php 1,000,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court with due consideration to the amount and the manner by which

1 such financial gain or profit is acquired, and the gravity of and the manner by which 2 such crime or fraud is facilitated or committed by the offender. (e) If the offender is a juridical person, the penalty shall be imposed upon the owner, manager, partner, member of the board of directors and/or any responsible officer or employee who participated in the commission of the prohibited act/s: 6 Provided, That the erring parties shall be held solidarily liable for the fines imposed in 7 relation to the offense; (f) If the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be immediately deported after 9 the complete service of his or her sentence and shall forever be barred from entering the country; and (g) If the offender is a public official or employee, he or she shall, in addition to the maximum penalties prescribed herein, suffer absolute perpetual disqualification from public office.

Sec. 7. Provisional Remedies and Other Forms of Relief. - Persons whose rights

over the control and use of their physical attributes have been violated shall be entitled to the following civil remedies: (a) Injunctive relief, including, but not limited to, immediate takedown, deletion, or recall of any infringing media content across all physical or digital platforms and repositories, whether public or private; (b) Compensation for damages, including actual, moral, and exemplary damages, resulting from the violations enumerated under Section 6 of this Act, including, but not limited to, the surrender of any revenue or income earned thereof; (c) Destruction or forfeiture of infringing media content and all derivative works, including source files and other physical or digital materials in electronic or physical repositories maintained by erring persons or digital platforms; or (d) Recovery of litigation cost, including, but not limited to, attorney's fees and court expenses.

Sec. 8. Exemptions. - The penalties and remedies provided under Sections 6

and 7 of this Act shall not apply to the use of a person's physical attributes in any media content that satisfies the following conditions: (a) The use is undertaken in good faith there being prior consent or legal basis; and (b) The use falls under any of the following circumstances: (1) Factual reporting and documentation of matters concerning public interest by publishers, editors or duly accredited reporters of any broadcast media outlet, newspaper, magazine, periodical or other media platform of general circulation; (2) Academic, training or research activities: Provided, That such activity shall be governed by a code of conduct and standards to ensure fair and ethical use of a person's physical attributes to be formulated by the academic, training or research institution concerned; (3) Inadvertent or incidental capture or recording in any media content where the capture or recording of an individual's physical attributes is merely incidental and is not the main focus or subject; (4) Creation, dissemination, publication or use of any media content that makes use of a person's physical attributes intended to preserve, document, depict or disseminate information about events, persons, inventions, or works of social, literary, artistic, historical or cultural significance: Provided, That such actions shall not misrepresent, distort, or exploit the identity and attributes of the individuals concerned. (5) Exercise of freedom of expression, including, but not limited to, artistic work, satire, comedy, parody, or social commentary: Provided, That such exercise shall not be intended to cause unjust harm or infringe upon the personal rights, nor be reasonably construed to mislead the general public about the origin, authorship or endorsement of a product, service or idea presented or depicted therein; or

(6) Activities involving the use of physical attributes in media content permitted under international agreements or treaties to which the Republic of the Philippines is a signatory: Provided, That such activities shall not be misleading, deceptive, defamatory, or intended to facilitate criminal or fraudulent activity.

Sec. 9. Lead Agency. - The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines

7 (IPOPhil) shall be the lead agency in the implementation of this Act, and shall exercise the following duties and functions: (a) Ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act; (b) Receive complaints, institute investigations, facilitate or enable settlement of complaints involving violations of any provision of this Act; (c) Issue cease and desist orders, or impose temporary or permanent ban on the commercial or public use of any media content that makes use of a person's physical attributes; (d) Compel or petition any entity, government agency or instrumentality to abide by its orders or take action on a matter affecting the implementation of this Act; (e) Coordinate with other government agencies and the private sector on efforts to formulate and implement plans and policies to strengthen the regulation on the commercial or public use of media contents that make use of a person's physical attributes, especially those that are wholly or partially generated, altered, or manipulated by Al or other similar technologies; (f) Recommend to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the prosecution of violators and the imposition of penalties specified in Section 6 of this Act; (g) Provide assistance on matters relating to the commercial or public use of any media content that makes use of a person's physical attributes at the request of a national or local agency, a private entity or an individual concerned; (h) Propose legislation, amendments or modifications to Philippine laws as may be necessary;

(i) Ensure proper and effective coordination with similar regulators in other 2 countries and private accountability agents, participate in international and regional initiatives for regulation of the commercial or public use of any media content that makes use of a person's physical attributes; and (i) Perform such acts as may be necessary to effectively implement the 6 provisions of this Act.

Sec. 10. Suppletory Application. - The provisions of Republic Act No. 8293 as

amended, otherwise known as the "Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines," and Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the "Data Privacy Act of 2012," shall have 10 suppletory application insofar as the same are consistent with the provisions of this 11 Act.

Sec. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from

the effectivity of this Act, the IPOPhil, in coordination with the National Privacy Commission, and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, and in consultation with non-government organizations concerned, shall promulgate the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is declared

unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 13. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive

order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

Sec. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect immediately after its publication

in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,