US State Laws Regulate AI, Criminalize Fake Images and Doctor Impersonation, Lee Jae-myung's "Corporate Advantage"

US State Laws Regulate AI, Criminalize Fake Images and Doctor Impersonation, Lee Jae-myung's "Corporate Advantage"

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Most US state laws regulate AI, criminalizing the creation of fake images and doctor impersonation. The Lee Jae-myung administration, however, has shifted its focus from financial support to "corporate self-regulation."

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 17th that 48 of the 50 US states have enacted laws independently regulating the use and development of artificial intelligence (AI).

According to a review of US state laws and data from the US NGO Transparency Coalition, all 48 states, with the exception of Ohio and Alaska, have regulations in place, and at least 13 states have enacted criminal penalties for developers who violate the laws.

AI regulations, which began in US states, began to be fully implemented around 2020. This trend accelerated after the inauguration of the hard-line conservative Trump administration on January 25, 2020. Since then, 30 states have enacted new laws, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

US state laws began to regulate in 2020 amid growing concerns about generative AI, including the spread of child pornography and election fraud videos under the Republican administration.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported, "Under the Trump administration, which has been accelerating AI development, there is no universal regulation in the US, and state regulations are ahead of them. This is because the spread of disinformation and suicide promotion by generative AI have emerged as social problems."

The Trump administration, which has been pursuing a policy of accelerating AI technology development and investment, is attempting to enact federal legislation to nullify state laws in order to commercialize increased regulation in state law. On December 25th of last year, the administration signed an executive order filing lawsuits against states imposing excessive regulations.

The most stringent restrictions in US state laws concern healthcare and election interference. Ten states have enacted laws prohibiting AI from "impersonating doctors," and 13 states have explicitly regulated the use of AI in public institutions, such as document creation. State regulations primarily address "deepfakes," fake images and videos created using generative AI. Arkansas has imposed criminal penalties for the creation and distribution of obscene deepfakes, and Montana has banned the use of deepfakes in election materials starting 60 days before the election.

Six states in the US plan to regulate "AI chatbots," which use generative AI to answer conversational questions, and California has mandated that companies respond appropriately when users mention suicide.

The mandatory regulation of AI chatbots is a legal response to a series of cases in which young people were offered suicide suggestions.

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Large US AI development companies also oppose state regulations, and in New Mexico, an attempt to enact new consumer protection legislation last year was delayed due to opposition from AI companies.

The European Union (EU) passed an AI law on May 24th of last year, comprehensively regulating AI. Japan enacted the AI Act on May 25th of last year to promote the development of generative AI and manage risks. The law did not include specific regulations or penalties.

Unlike global regulatory tightening, the Lee Jae-myung administration has focused on financial support and preferential treatment for AI companies as a core pillar of its government-led economic growth strategy, limiting it to "self-regulation."

The government's 2026 economic growth strategy, announced early this year, centers on an "AI·AX (AI Transformation)-based hyper-innovative economy."

This strategy relies on building an AI superpower system, building an AI highway, expanding the national AI computing infrastructure, fostering leading on-device AI sectors, and transitioning all industries to AX to increase potential growth and restructure the industrial structure.

The AI regulation, enacted in December of last year under the "Basic Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and the Creation of a Trust Foundation (AI Basic Act)," will take effect on the 22nd.

The Framework Act on AI, which prioritized the promotion of the AI industry, abstractly specified the obligation to ensure safety and transparency for high-risk AI and to clarify who is responsible for it as a "response" to tax-funded "promotional financial support," as "autonomous responsibility." The government relegated this responsibility to "investigation and administrative procedures" to determine violations.

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President Lee, in his speech at the World Political Science Association on July 13th of last year, declared "direct democracy through AI," violating the Constitution's "principle of popular sovereignty." He also expanded the administration-led economic growth policy of his 2021 presidential campaign promise of a "New Deal 4% high growth" system, declaring, "Freedom is the economy to block anti-democratic forces disguised as growth."

 

On July 10th of last year, European Union (EU) officials imposed new rules to regulate artificial intelligence, requiring AI system creators to provide detailed analysis of the content used to train their algorithms.

 

On December 23rd of last year, the Japanese government finalized and announced its first "AI Basic Plan" to fundamentally strengthen domestic artificial intelligence (AI) development and utilization.

The plan pursues "trustworthy AI" leveraging Japan's strengths, and announces policy goals of becoming "the country with the easiest AI development and utilization in the world," while balancing technological innovation and risk management.

The core of Japan's AI Basic Plan is the "AI Act," enacted in May of last year, which stipulates "four policies the government must implement." These are (1) promoting utilization, (2) strengthening development capabilities, (3) governance, and (4) social transformation. The plan is to be revised annually, based on the fundamental principles of technological innovation.

The Yomiuri reported on December 23rd of last year that the Japanese government's plan directly expressed a sense of crisis that Japan's AI development and utilization is "becoming increasingly noticeable year after year."

It added that it would "leverage Japan's accumulated 'high-quality data' in industrial, medical, and research, as well as its high-quality communication environment, and launch a 'reverse offensive' in both the public and private sectors."

The Yomiuri also noted that Japanese government officials are promoting the development of "trustworthy AI based on Japanese culture and customs" and "physical AI" that operates in the real world, such as autonomous robots and autonomous driving, and that they also advocated for "early revision of the Personal Information Protection Act" to support data learning.

The Yomiuri newspaper specifically stated, "Government officials will also thoroughly utilize AI, taking into account the 'Gennai' generative AI platform developed by the Digital Agency." The paper also stated, "As part of its commitment to ensuring reliability, the Prime Minister's Office has decided to immediately double the staff of the AI Safety Research Institute, a government-affiliated organization responsible for AI safety assessments, by approximately 30 people.

The government aims to have 200 employees in the future, the same number as UK institutions, and the government will lead the development and securing of AI human resources." The paper also clearly stated that the "safety assessment" is a government role.

The Yomiuri newspaper stated, "The 'AI safety assessment' anticipates the possibility of future social expansion, and includes 'consideration of civil liability' and 'appropriate intellectual property protection' in the event of accidents or damage."

 

See <Lee Jae-myung's 2021 pledge to "violate the Constitution of Direct Democracy with AI" and "4% High Growth New Deal," July 17, 2025>

<EU AI Law Mandates "Analysis of Algorithm Training Content," Lee Jae-myung's Naver "Infringes Sovereignty," July 12, 2025>

<AI Companies Spend Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Political Funds to Eliminate Critics, Resurge in Cryptocurrency Lobbying, September 29, 2025>

<UN AI Report: "Access, Democratization, Human Livelihoods, and Transparent Regulation Prioritize," December 3, 2025>

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