Latest news with #DEFIANCEAct
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Victims Of Explicit Deepfakes Could Sue Under Proposed Law
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the primary sponsors of the DEFIANCE Act (Photo by Drew ...) Earlier this week, President Trump signed the Take It Down Act to force platforms to take down deepfake nudes, revenge porn and other types of non-consensual intimate imagery. Building on that momentum, the DEFIANCE Act was reintroduced today to allow victims to sue those who created or shared these explicit images. The Take It Down Act, already signed into law, requires platforms to remove nonconsensual explicit images within 48 hours of a valid request. Offenders can face fines or up to three years in prison, and platforms that don't comply may be penalized by the FTC. Today, the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act was reintroduced to fill a gap in the Take It Down Act, allowing the subjects of these images to sue for damages. 'We are reintroducing the DEFIANCE Act to grant survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the legal right to pursue justice,' said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a statement. Like the Take It Down Act, the DEFIANCE Act has bipartisan support, and it passed the Senate last summer unanimously. 'I am proud to lead this legislation with Representative Lee, and Senators Durbin and Graham,' Ocasio-Cortez added. If signed, the law would allow victims to take civil action to seek justice against perpetrators who created, distributed, solicited or published deepfake explicit images. AI apps now make it easy to take any photo and create realistic nude images of someone without their consent. In addition to these deepfakes, authentic explicit photos can also be shared without permission. A 2019 report by cybersecurity firm DeepTrace found that 96% of online deepfake videos were nonconsensual and pornographic. By 2023, research from another cybersecurity company, Security Hero, showed that deepfake pornography accounted for 98% of all deepfake videos online, 99% of which targeted women. The new legislation would allow victims to collect compensation for the damage caused by the explicit image. 'Civil recourse is essential because it puts power directly in the hands of victims. Unlike criminal cases, which depend on a prosecutor's decision and are harder to win, civil cases are victim-led and offer a more accessible path to justice,' Omny Miranda Martone, founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, explained via email. Under the new bill, victims can seek financial restitution for harms, like job loss, therapy or personal security costs. In addition, the Take It Down Act only applies to explicit content that's shared publicly, but online posting is just one way these images are distributed. When professionals are targeted, perpetrators often use other tactics, such as emailing explicit photos directly to a boss or circulating the images among coworkers. When Martone was personally attacked with deepfake pornography, the content was posted on social media and emailed to her employer with demands to fire Martone, unaware that Martone was the company CEO. While the Take It Down Act could have helped remove the content posted on social media, the law wouldn't have protected Martone if they had repercussions from the email. 'The DEFIANCE Act fills this gap,' Martone explains. 'It empowers victims to seek justice against those who create, distribute or send explicit images—whether it's posted online, emailed to a boss or shared among coworkers,' they add. It's worth noting that the sharing of explicit deepfakes is more about exerting control rather than anything sexual. In the workplace, it's used to shame, silence, and undermine women in positions of influence. It's also important to consider the broader consequences. Explicit deepfake image sharing is a type of objectification that reduces people (typically women) to their physical appearance and can strip them of their power and identity. In addition to the psychological consequences for the victim, there can also be career repercussions. Research shows that objectified women are seen as less competent, less relatable, and less human. In addition, researchers found that voters were less likely to support political candidates who had been objectified, and that objectified women were perceived as lacking qualities like helpfulness or emotional depth. In other words, exposure to explicit deepfakes may alter one's views about a woman's skills and capabilities. Whether the harm comes from emotional distress, reputational damage, being seen as less competent, or even a job loss, the DEFIANCE Act offers hope that victims may finally receive some financial restitution. It might even serve as a deterrent, stopping some people from generating the images.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ocasio-Cortez reintroduces bill to empower AI deepfake victims
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would give those depicted in nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes the power to take civil action against those who make or distribute the imagery. Ocasio-Cortez co-led the reintroduction of the bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) in the House and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the upper chamber. The bill is backed by another five senators and nine House members. The legislation, titled the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, would give survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the 'legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. Should the bill pass, civil actions will be able to be pursued against the individuals who create, distribute or possess with the intent to spread these deepfakes. 'Although the imagery may be fake, the harm to the victims is very real,' Durbin said in a statement Wednesday. 'Victims have lost their jobs, their reputations, and many have suffered from life-altering depression or anxiety.' It comes on the heels of President Trump's signing of the Take It Down Act on Monday, which criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual deepfake imagery. The Take It Down Act further requires websites to take down the content without 48 hours and make 'reasonable efforts' to remove duplicate images. The DEFIANCE Act aims to build upon the progress of the Take it Down Act by focusing on civil resources to 'complement' one another, Lee said. 'Together, they both create both accountability and recourse,' Lee said. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last year but did not reach the House floor for a vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Ocasio-Cortez reintroduces bill to empower AI deepfake victims
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would give those depicted in nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes the power to take civil action against those who make or distribute the imagery. Ocasio-Cortez co-led the reintroduction of the bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) in the House and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in the upper chamber. The bill is backed by another five senators and nine House members. The legislation, titled The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE), would give survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the 'legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. Should the bill pass, civil actions will be able to be pursued against the individuals who create, distribute or possess with the intent to spread these deepfakes. 'Although the imagery may be fake, the harm to the victims is very real,' Durbin said in a statement Wednesday. 'Victims have lost their jobs, their reputations, and many have suffered from life-altering depression or anxiety.' It comes on the heels of President Trump's signing of the Take It Down Act on Monday, which criminalized the publication of nonconsensual deepfake imagery. The Take It Down Act further requires websites to take down the content without 48 hours and make 'reasonable efforts' to remove duplicate images. The DEFIANCE Act aims to build upon the progress of the Take it Down Act by focusing on civil resource and 'complement' one another, Lee said. 'Together, they both create both accountability and recourse,' Lee said. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last year but did not reach the House floor for a vote.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AOC to Reintroduce Bill Combating Deepfake AI Porn
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is re-introducing her bill to provide civil recourse for survivors of non-consensual sexually-explicit deepfakes. Ocasio-Cortez is co-leading the bicameral bill with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act was originally introduced last year and unanimously passed the Senate but did not make it to a vote at the House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation currently has nine co-sponsors and will be re-introduced in both the Senate and House on Wednesday. The legislation amends the Violence Against Women Act so that survivors can sue those who produce, distribute, or receive the deepfake pornography, if they knew the victim did not consent to those images. Deepfakes can be pictures or videos that have been manipulated by technology, for example through image software like Photoshop or artificial intelligence. The rise of easy-to-use AI-generated technology has made it easier than ever to create fake images that are extremely difficult to distinguish from reality. 'We are reintroducing the DEFIANCE Act to grant survivors and victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography the legal right to pursue justice,' Ocasio-Cortez says in a statement. 'I am proud to lead this legislation with Representative Lee, and Senators Durbin and Graham to provide victims with the federal protections they deserve.' On Monday, President Donald Trump signed into law the Take It Down Act, which is the first federal law to criminalize the publication of both authentic and AI-generated nonconsensual sexually-explicit images or videos. The people or platforms publishing the images can face criminal penalties. Ocasio-Cortez and the co-leads say that the DEFIANCE Act builds on the progress made by the passage of Take It Down. They see it as a complement to the Take It Down Act, one that focuses on giving survivors a civil recourse. The legislators and their teams spoke to multiple deepfake abuse survivor organizations while working on the bill. What they heard from survivors was that sometimes people want a civil right of action rather than going through the criminal justice system, so the DEFIANCE Act would provide a way for victims to have multiple pathways toward justice. 'By introducing the DEFIANCE Act, we're giving power back to the victims; cracking down on the production, receipt, distribution, and possession of 'deepfake' images; and holding those responsible for the images accountable,' Durbin says in the press release. Last year, Ocasio-Cortez sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about her experience as a survivor of deepfake AI abuse. 'There's a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'It's not as imaginary as people want to make it seem. It parallels the same exact intention of physical rape and sexual assault, [which] is about power, domination, and humiliation. Deepfakes are absolutely a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people.' Omny Miranda Martone, founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, is one of the survivors who worked with Ocasio-Cortez and Lee's teams as they were drafting the legislation. 'I know how hard it is to speak out,' Martone tells Rolling Stone. 'I was targeted with several deepfake pornography attacks. Disgusting violating images of 'me' were shared on social media and emailed to my organization in an attempt to silence my advocacy. As a victim, I deeply appreciate Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Lee's strength and bravery to take action and speak out.' More from Rolling Stone Stream Bruce Springsteen's Great New Live EP to Anger Donald Trump Trump Judge Slams Supreme Court, Says Courts Are 'Not a Denny's' Live Nation Names Trump Crony Ric Grenell to Its Board of Directors Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
