The U.S. Senate unanimously passed an anti-deepfake porn bill on Thursday with 100 votes.
The bill, Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, was introduced by Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. It is also being sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the House.
If passed, victims of deepfake pornography would be able to “sue anyone who knowingly creates, receives, or distributes non-consensual, sexually explicit content made with artificial intelligence.” There would be a ten-year statute of limitations, giving victims a lot of time to act.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has been the victim of many sexual deepfakes, posted a statement after the bill passed through the Senate.
The congresswoman wrote, "Today marks an important step in the fight to protect survivors of nonconsensual deepfake pornography. Over 90% of all deepfake videos made are nonconsensual sexually explicit images, and women are the targets 9 times out of 10. The DEFIANCE Act would guarantee federal protections for survivors of nonconsensual deepfake pornography for the first time, granting the right to take civil action against individuals who knowingly produce, distribute, or receive nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries."
“I’m glad the U.S. Senate united to pass the DEFIANCE Act. I'm committed to collaborating with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to shepherd the bill through the House of Representatives to get it to the President’s desk. Together, we can give survivors the justice they deserve,” Ocasio-Cortez added.
In a post on X, Sen. Durbin urged the House to pass the bill quickly.
"Current laws don’t apply to deepfakes, leaving women and girls who suffer from this image-based sexual abuse without a legal remedy. It’s time to give victims their day in court and the tools they need to fight back. I urge my House colleagues to pass this bill expediently." Current laws don’t apply to deepfakes, leaving women and girls who suffer from this image-based sexual abuse without a legal remedy.
It’s time to give victims their day in court and the tools they need to fight back.
I urge my House colleagues to pass this bill expediently. https://t.co/vPL00BtYKC
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) July 24, 2024
Another victim of deepfakes, actress Scarlett Johansson, told the Washington Post in 2019 that "the fact is that trying to protect yourself from the internet and its depravity is basically a lost cause, for the most part."
