Michigan lawmakers: Extortionists using AI to create deepfake pornography must be stopped
Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) speaks in support of legislation to ban nonconsensual 'deepfake' pornography before a vote in the Michigan state House on April 24, 2025. | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols
Legislation to ban non-consensual hyper-realistic 'deepfake' pornography stalled out in the Michigan Legislature last year, but that hasn't slowed the production of those materials and lawmakers say that needs to change.
Bills to outlaw those materials were back again before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Thursday.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Testifying before the committee was bill sponsor and state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing). Tsernoglou said that each time she gets the opportunity to tell her fellow lawmakers there's a need for more regulation in artificial intelligence, the issue becomes worse because In Michigan, and across other states, there are bad actors who use artificial intelligence to create non-consensual fake pornographic media.
'As the percentage of the population that uses artificial intelligence technology, either knowingly or unknowingly, continues to grow exponentially, we must stay hyper-vigilant in our efforts to regulate the technology and to ensure that our most vulnerable community members are not exploited or harmed,' Tsernoglou told the committee on Thursday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security both are reaching out to the American public about the rising issue of sexual exploitation taking place online, cautioning that children particularly are often being targeted.
Both agencies cited a study from Sensity AI, a research company tracking deepfake media, which found that between 90% and 95% of deepfake videos online since 2018 are nonconsensual pornography and about 90% of those nonconsensual videos are of nonconsensual porn are of women.
As the Michigan Senate considers House Bills 4047 and 4048, introduced by Tsernoglou and Rep. Matt Bierlein (R-Vassar) to ban nonconsensual deepfake pornography and place criminal penalties on their production, lawmakers in the committee meeting Thursday shared how the issue has impacted people they know.
State Sen. Paul Wojno (D-Warren) said he appreciates that the bills address the nefarious nature of the materials, especially when it comes to extortion. He shared that a friend of his daughter had been extorted by someone using a fake image.
'[A] deep fake was created and they sent it to her and threatened that if she didn't pay a certain amount of money, it would be posted on social media,' Wojno said.
These extortionists don't even necessarily know their victims, said Zoey Brewer, policy and grassroots coordinator with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. But by using technology that is becoming more realistic and more accessible to the public, Brewer said criminals are extorting money from victims or creating such intense anxiety in their victims that they can't attend school or work and, in some cases, they resort to suicide.
The bills have bipartisan support, and cleared the state House with a nearly unanimous vote in April, just as they did last session. But the bills failed to clear the state Senate last year during a turbulent lame duck session.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), the committee's chair, said the Senate had 'every intention' of taking up the bills, but she's glad lawmakers are pressing the issue again this session.
Deepfakes don't just impact celebrities and they aren't harmless jokes, Bierlein said. Michigan's laws have left families and law enforcement without proper recourse to go after extortionists making fake sexual materials, he added.
Among the groups who submitted support for the bills was the Michigan Sheriff's Association.
The legislation being considered by the committee would send a strong message that Michigan will not tolerate digital abuse and would not only criminalize nonconsensual deepfake pornography, but also allow victims to sue the individuals who create it, Bierlein said.
'They're deeply invasive, traumatic violations that can ruin lives,' Bierlein said of deepfake pornographic media. 'Reputations, careers and mental health have all been damaged or destroyed by the weaponization of someone's likeness, often targeting women, minors and vulnerable individuals. This is not a hypothetical issue, in my own district I have heard from families and young people who have been directly affected by these people.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Second judge blocks parts of Trump order overhauling elections
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from implementing parts of President Trump's executive order seeking to overhaul elections. U.S. District Judge Denise Casper granted a request from a group of Democratic attorneys general to halt five sections of the executive order, most focused on Trump's new requirements for proof of citizenship to register to vote in U.S. elections. Casper is the second judge to block portions of Trump's directive. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., granted a preliminary injunction in April in three consolidated cases, which also focused on the new proof of citizenship requirements. 'There is no dispute (nor could there be) that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal elections and the federal voter registration forms require attestation of citizenship,' wrote Casper, an appointee of former President Obama. 'The issue here is whether the President can require documentary proof of citizenship where the authority for election requirements is in the hands of Congress, its statutes … do not require it, and the statutorily created [Election Assistance Commission (EAC)] is required to go through a notice and comment period and consult with the States before implementing any changes to the federal forms for voter registration,' she continued. Casper enjoined the administration from implementing new rules mandating documentary proof of citizenship in federal voter registration forms. She also blocked conditioning any funding for states from the EAC — an independent election administration agency — on their adoption of a ballot receipt deadline of Election Day. She also blocked a directive to Attorney General Pam Bondi to take civil or criminal action against states that violate any provisions by counting absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation of votes for president or members of Congress. The portions of the order relating to ballots received after Election Day apply to 13 of the 19 states that filed the challenge, she ruled. 'There is nothing in the text of the Election Day statutes that bars the Ballot Receipt States from counting ballots received in accordance with their ballot receipt laws or that provides for civil enforcement or criminal action by the Attorney General against the Ballot Receipt States,' the judge wrote in her 44-page opinion. Trump's executive order, signed in March, said it was his administration's policy to enforce federal law and 'to protect the integrity of our election process.' The president has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of American elections, most notably the 2020 election won by former President Biden. 'The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,' Casper wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
24 minutes ago
- New York Post
Key Trump officials like Gabbard, Vance quiet on Israel's attack on Iran as WH insists cabinet ‘united'
WASHINGTON — Key Trump administration officials are keeping mum and instead boosting the president's statements about Israel's attack on Iranian — even as the White House insists the cabinet is 'united' about the US response. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the first to respond to the attack publicly with a statement Thursday evening that 'Israel took unilateral action against Iran' and the US was 'not involved in strikes' — but others have yet to comment. 'We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,' Trump posted on his Truth Social hours before the Israeli attack launched. Advertisement 5 Key Trump administration officials have been staying quiet or boosting the president's statements about Israel's airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, missile sites and military leaders. AP 'They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reposted Trump's statement hours before Israel's airstrikes that killed at least 20 senior military leaders and six nuclear scientists for the regime in Tehran. Advertisement The White House and other cabinet officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also boosted Rubio's or Trump's messages without issuing statements of their own. 5 'The cabinet is united in the president's actions,' a White House official affirmed to The Post. AP 'The cabinet is united in the president's actions,' a White House official affirmed to The Post. Trump's comments Friday morning were far more aggressive — he tore into Iranian officials for having botched their 'chance to make a deal' while emphasizing how the US supplies 'lethal military equipment' to Israel. Advertisement 'I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it,' Trump posted, in a statement that Vice President JD Vance reposted. 5 The White House and other cabinet officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also boosted Rubio's or Trump's messages without issuing statements of their own. AFP via Getty Images 'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!' Rubio's comments had emphasized: 'Our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense.' Advertisement 'President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,' the secretary of state also said. 5 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reposted Trump's statement hours before Israel's airstrikes that killed at least 20 senior military leaders and six nuclear scientists for the regime in Tehran. Getty Images That statement had been crafted with White House input, with some disagreements arising about its precise phrasing, a Trump administration official later told Politico. Trump's administration has been staffed with more officials who support a non-interventionist foreign policy than in his first term, with conflicts in the Middle East — including earlier US strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen — dividing some cabinet members. 'President Trump has pledged to end wars, not start them,' Gabbard said when announcing that she'd left the Democratic Party at a Trump rally last October weeks before the 2024 election. 5 Trump's comments Friday morning — which were boosted by Vice President JD Vance — were far more aggressive in tearing into Iranian officials for having botched their 'chance to make a deal.' AP In an ominous video posted Wednesday, the director of national intelligence had also cautioned that the world was inching closer to the 'brink of nuclear annihilation,' after visiting Hiroshima, Japan. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who heavily backed Gabbard's appointment, struck a similar tone in a morning newsletter for his eponymous network, claiming it could be his final dispatch 'before an all-out war.' Advertisement Carlson also directly challenged Rubio's claim that the US was 'not involved.' 'The United States should not at any level participate in a war with Iran. No funding, no American weapons, no troops on the ground,' he wrote. '[T]here is another option: Drop Israel. Let them fight their own wars.' National security hawks in Congress took the opposite stance. 'Game on,' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tweeted after the bombs started falling. 'Pray for Israel.'
Hamilton Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Charles Rangel's funeral mass draws big names who celebrated the late congressman's life
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton, Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries remembered former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel's sharp wit, relentless advocacy for Harlem and extraordinary life of public service during a funeral mass for the late congressman in Manhattan on Friday. Rangel, a pioneering congressman and veteran of the Korean War, died on May 26 the age of 94. The mass, held at the historic St. Patrick's Cathedral, came a day after Rangel's body lay in state at New York City Hall , an honor bestowed to only a handful of political figures, including U.S. presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. Clinton, who called Rangel one of the most effective members to ever serve in Congress, recalled the congressman's insistence on steering a critical economic program to his Harlem district when Clinton was president, helping to lower unemployment there. 'I don't think I ever knew a happier warrior than Charlie Rangel,' Clinton said. Rangel served in Congress for nearly five decades, becoming a dean of the New York congressional delegation and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as being the first first African American to chair the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Before his time on Capitol Hill, he earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his military service in the Korean War. Jeffries, the House Democratic Leader, told the crowd at the mass that 'America is better off today because of his service' and said, as a young congressman, that the legendary Rangel would simply call him Jeff. 'Now, Charlie Rangel would often call me Jeff. I believe it was short for Jeffries. But I never confirmed that. 'Cause this was Charlie Rangel, and so you go with the flow,' Jeffries said, smiling. Hochul called Rangel 'a giant in American life' and said she would move to rename a street in Harlem after the late congressman, who was sometimes called 'Lion of Lenox Avenue.' She thanked the attendees who came to the mass 'not to mourn Charlie, but to celebrate an extraordinary life.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
