A Literature Review of the Legislation and Regulation of Deepfakes in the Philippines

Deepfakes are technology driven by artificial intelligence that is being heavily studied by various organizations, research institutions, and executive departments due to their capacity to create realistic synthetic media. Previous research shows that the prevalence of deepfakes in a global context has penetrated beyond the entertainment field, probing into the potential of varying small-scale and large-scale cyber-attacks such as revenge porn and political tools. As an emerging innovation, efforts to understand, mitigate, and provide solutions to threats such as deepfakes are severely limited, especially in the Philippines. To further understand the stance of the Filipino people on deepfakes and their regulations, a survey was conducted on 165 respondents. The questionnaire tested their knowledge of informative sources, existing legislation about deepfakes, and their ability to recognize deepfakes from original media. Findings show a correlation between Filipino's exposure to social media, their awareness of deepfakes, and their ability to spot them. In addition, those with prior exposure to deepfakes were also able to identify the lack and need for legislation regarding deepfakes in the Philippines. Therefore, this study concludes that aside from legislation, a sense of urgency from authorized bodies and citizens is needed to mitigate the harmful effects of deepfakes.