Heinrich Advances Legislation to Address Nonconsensual, Sexually-Explicit Deepfakes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, applauded Senate passage of the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024 (DEFIANCE Act), legislation he cosponsored, that will hold accountable those responsible for the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexually-explicit "deepfake" images and videos. The legislation is led by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

"Senate passage of our DEFIANCE Act is a significant first step in better protecting children and adults from being sexually exploited in AI-generated deepfakes. For the sake of the survivors, the House should pass this legislation immediately," said Heinrich.

The volume of "deepfake" content available online is increasing exponentially as the technology used to create it has become more accessible to the public. The overwhelming majority of this material is sexually explicit and is produced without the consent of the person depicted.

Survivors often experience serious mental health and other harms, including worry about the images remaining searchable on the internet years into the future, where they could potentially be found by family, friends, and employers. Creation of nonconsensual sexually-explicit images is often also accompanied by bullying or extortion.

The DEFIANCE Act creates a federal civil remedy, allowing survivors to seek justice in court. The Act also strengthens confidentiality protections for survivors during court proceedings.

Alongside Heinrich, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Mike Lee (R-Utah). The House version of the bill is led by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The bill is supported by the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, the National Organization for Women, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the National Women's Law Center, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, My Image My Choice, PACT, Rights4Girls, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Software & Information Industry Association, ACT | The App Association, The Internet and Competitive Networks Association, Raven, and others.

A one-page bill summary is here.

The text of the bill is here.

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