Sen. Ted Cruz is leading a bipartisan effort to address the issue of revenge pornography. The proposed legislation aims to make the dissemination and creation of non-consensual explicit images, including AI-generated deepfakes, illegal.
Deepfake sexual images on social media are a very real problem.
I can’t imagine the humiliation of being a teenager and waking up to learn that someone has created explicit AI-generated images of you.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act will protect victims of this heinous crime by deterring… pic.twitter.com/3UIYbwfxh8
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 18, 2024
Sen. Cruz Holds Press Conference Unveiling Bipartisan Bill to Protect and Empower Victims of Deepfake Pornography https://t.co/QoY3J0ENNx
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 18, 2024
Elliston Berry, a 15-year-old student from Aledo High School, shared her experience of being a victim of deepfake revenge porn. In October, a classmate used an AI program to turn innocent photos of Elliston and her friends into deepfake nudes and circulated them on Snapchat. Elliston’s mother, Anna McAdams, said, “These images are child pornography.
These girls were 14 years old.
NEW: With A.I. deepfake nudes (think the ones that targeted Taylor Swift, AOC and children in high school) there's a new bipartisan bill out to hold social media companies and websites accountable. https://t.co/75ZmTxt6H3
— Emily Wilkins (@emrwilkins) June 18, 2024
Their innocence was taken that day.” McAdams tried for months to get Snapchat to take down the photos, but the company only complied after Sen.
Bipartisan effort against deepfake pornography
Cruz complained.
Cruz intro's anti AI-generated revenge porn bill with several R's and D's: Klobuchar, Lummis, Blumenthal, Capito, Rosen, Budd, Butler, Young, Manchin, Hickenlooper, Cassidy and Heinrich
via @TheTexanNews https://t.co/lhxagvdp5q
— Matthew Choi (@matthewichoi) June 18, 2024
The proposed bill, called the “Take It Down Act,” would require social media platforms to develop a process to remove deepfake images within 48 hours of receiving a valid request from a victim. The Federal Trade Commission would be responsible for enforcing these rules.
Sen. Dick Durbin has introduced a separate bill that would allow victims of non-consensual deepfakes to sue individuals who created, possessed, or distributed the images. However, Sen.
Cynthia Lummis blocked Durbin’s bill, arguing it was overly broad and could hinder technological innovation in the U.S.
As the Senate debates these competing bills, the focus remains on crafting effective legislation to combat the growing problem of deepfake pornography. The outcome of these legislative efforts will significantly impact the responsibility and regulatory obligations of social media platforms in handling AI-generated content.
