Chile - Identity Usurpation via AI (Boletín 16112-07)

Overview

Boletín 16112-07 (introduced 17 July 2023) is a legislative motion in the Chilean Chamber of Deputies that proposes to amend provisions of the Criminal Code governing usurpation of identity to explicitly cover conduct committed using artificial intelligence (AI) and related digital technologies. The proposal broadens existing definitions of impersonation to include name, voice, photographs, video, biometric data, and other personal data; it clarifies that commission through internet platforms or social media and the use of automated or generative technologies (e.g., deepfakes, voice cloning) fall within the offense; and it contemplates enhanced investigative mechanisms and penalties. The official record of the initiative and its status are available on the Chamber of Deputies legislative portal (Chamber tramitación: Boletín 16112-07) and the project entry page (Chamber project page (authors)).

Definitions

The bill (draft motion) proposes expanded statutory definitions for terms relevant to identity usurpation: "identity usurpation" (including impersonation of name, voice, image, video, biometric or other personal data), "AI-assisted impersonation" (use of automated, generative, or synthetic-data tools to create or amplify impersonation), "platform operators" (intermediary service providers hosting user content), and "evidence preservation" (orders to preserve digital data and metadata). These definitions aim to capture both human-directed and automated processes that create materially deceptive representations of a person.

Governance and Institutional Framework

The proposal situates responsibility across prosecutorial and investigative authorities and contemplates strengthened inter-agency coordination. The Public Prosecutor's Office (Fiscalía) would retain primary prosecutorial authority for criminal cases, supported by cyber-investigative units within the Policía de Investigaciones (PDI) and the Carabineros for operational evidence-gathering. The bill authorizes judicial preservation orders and mutual assistance with platform operators to obtain content and logs. It also references coordination with the Ministry of Justice (policy guidance) and the national data protection authority (created by recent data protection reforms) for privacy-impact considerations. The Chamber’s legislative record documents referral of the bill to the Constitution, Legislation, Justice and Regulations Commission for review and reports (tramitación page).

Key Focus Areas

The draft concentrates on (i) substantive criminal law: enlarging the covered conduct to explicitly criminalize AI-enabled impersonation and the use of synthetic media to misrepresent identity; (ii) evidentiary and procedural tools: orders to preserve user accounts, content, and provider logs; expedited cooperation channels for obtaining metadata; and judicial powers to require platform takedown or content labelling where appropriate; (iii) sanctions and aggravating factors: enhanced penalties where conduct is automated, conducted at scale, or used to commit further offences (fraud, defamation, blackmail); (iv) victim protection: streamlined channels for victims to request preservation and expedited injunctive relief; and (v) accountability for intermediaries: defined duties to preserve evidence on receipt of judicial request and procedural protections for user rights and confidentiality. The legislative intent—articulated in sponsors' statements—is to deter misuse of technologies such as deepfakes and voice-cloning while preserving legitimate expressive uses of novel tools. Analysts place this motion within a broader package of AI-related penal propositions in 2023–2024, including other bills addressing AI-enhanced fraud and general AI governance (vLex summary).

Implementation Framework

Operationalizing the proposed changes would require (1) guidelines and capacity-building for prosecutors and law enforcement in detecting synthetic media and conducting forensic analysis of AI-generated content; (2) judicial training on preservation orders and cross-border data requests; (3) Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) or protocols for rapid cooperation with major platform operators and cloud providers; (4) technical standards for digital evidence handling and chain-of-custody for synthetic-media artifacts (hashing, metadata extraction, certified expert reports); and (5) privacy-protective processes to minimize overbroad data disclosure. The bill anticipates implementing measures and inter-institutional protocols coordinated by the Ministry of Justice and the Fiscalía.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring would be both quantitative (number of prosecutions, convictions, preservation orders, takedown requests, response times by platforms) and qualitative (effectiveness of forensic techniques, timeliness of judicial relief, unintended consequences for legitimate speech). Periodic reporting—requested by the sponsoring deputies and to be undertaken by the Fiscalía and Ministry of Justice—would allow legislative oversight. The tramitación record confirms the project remains at first trámite and will be subject to commission reports before possible amendments (tramitación).

Penalties, Liability, and Appeals

The motion proposes penal sanctions calibrated based on harm and means: custodial sentences (presidio menor ranged), fines (measured in UTM), and additional penalties proportionate to damages caused to reputation or economic harm. Aggravating circumstances include use of AI to commit the offense, operation at scale, or causing severe harm (fraud, significant economic loss, extortion). Criminal liability rests with the natural persons who commit the act; the bill contemplates procedural mechanisms to identify actors, and courts would continue to consider proportionality and defenses (consent, parody, legitimate journalistic uses). Convicted parties retain ordinary appellate rights under the criminal procedure code.

Relationship to Other Instruments

The proposal interfaces with Chile’s evolving personal-data protection framework (recent reforms and the creation/strengthening of a data protection authority), cybercrime statutes, and other AI-related legislative initiatives (e.g., Boletines 15935-07 and 16021-07 addressing AI in fraud and as an aggravating factor). It also relates to platform-intermediary rules and international mutual legal assistance treaties for cross-border evidence preservation. Implementing regulations and judicial practice will need to harmonize criminal provisions with administrative remedies administered by the data protection regulator and consumer-protection regimes.

International Alignment

The bill reflects trends in other jurisdictions to criminalize or aggravate offences committed through synthetic media or automated technologies and to strengthen access-to-evidence tools for law enforcement while balancing freedom of expression and privacy. It aligns conceptually with initiatives in the EU and comparative proposals in Latin America addressing deepfakes, AI-enabled fraud, and intermediary cooperation. The motion’s emphasis on forensic capability, preservation orders and platform cooperation mirrors measures recommended in international cybercrime and digital-evidence guidance.

Implementation Timeline

Sources and References