Immediate Action Needed by Hawaii Local Members

After moving through the legislature last year, and stalling in the wake of the global pandemic, some good news. Our deepfakes initiative is again making its way through the legislature. Senate Judiciary Chair Karl Rhoads has introduced, and the Judiciary committee will hear SB 309 RELATING TO PRIVACY, on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 at 9:30 a.m, via videoconference.

For more on SAG-AFTRA’s position and initiatives on deepfakes click here.  Also more information about Deepfakes in general can be found here.

The hearing notice can be viewed here.

Time is of the essence with regards to your testimony. On time testimony must be submitted by 9:30 am, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 and late testimony may be submitted until the hearing time. 

Submitting testimony is easy. 

Go to the bill’s status page (you can read the entire bill here), look in the upper right hand part of the screen and click on the blue “Submit Testimony” button. 

If you have not already created a login, you will be instructed on how to do so. After that, it is just a few clicks to have your voice heard. 

When submitting testimony, you need not write anything out, it is as simple as clicking the “SUPPORT” button.  However, if you are so inclined to write more please consider:

1. Thanking the Legislature for addressing this important issue.
2. Stating that you are supporting SB 309.
3. Supporting making the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography a felony.
4. Sharing a little about how this issue has victimized fellow SAG-AFTRA members, and could impact you or anyone. Also noting that deepfake pornography has been made of over 1,000 SAG-AFTRA members and is being used to harass college students and former partners.
5. Stating that this privacy protection is a basic human right to be free from abuse and harassment.

We need to get a large number of testimony submitted via the capitol.gov portal in time for the hearing to send the message that this is important to SAG-AFTRA membership.

Remember: the state capitol is closed to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. To comply with social distancing requirements, only written and videoconference testimony will be accepted. If you wish to testify via videoconference you must also submit written testimony.   

Thank you for your support and thank you for taking the time to read this email. Please contact mericia.palmaelmore@sagaftra.org with any questions.