US Senate cracks down on sexual deepfakes after Grok backlash
What's the story
The US Senate has passed the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), a bill aimed at protecting individuals from non-consensual deepfakes. The legislation would allow victims of such abuses to sue those who created these explicit images for civil damages. The bill was passed unanimously, with no senator objecting to its passage on Tuesday.
Legislative progression
DEFIANCE Act builds on existing legislation
The DEFIANCE Act builds on the Take It Down Act, which makes it illegal to distribute non-consensual intimate images (NCII) and mandates social media platforms to remove them quickly. The bill's passage comes amid global criticism against X for allowing users to create non-consensual and sexually explicit AI images using its Grok chatbot.
Policy critique
Senate Democratic Whip criticizes X's inaction
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, a lead sponsor of the bill, criticized X for its inaction against Grok's non-consensual undressing. He said, "Even after these terrible deepfake, harming images are pointed out to Grok and to X... they do not respond." The DEFIANCE Act would specifically target individuals creating deepfaked non-consensual intimate imagery, unlike the Take It Down Act which could have broader implications for social media platforms like X.
International action
Global response to AI-generated non-consensual images
Countries around the world are enacting new laws to protect against AI-generated non-consensual images, partly due to the recent Grok controversy. The UK, for instance, has recently enacted a law that criminalizes the creation of non-consensual intimate deepfakes. The DEFIANCE Act was also passed by the Senate in 2024 after another non-consensual deepfake scandal on X involving sexually explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift.
Legislative process
DEFIANCE Act's journey to the House
The DEFIANCE Act was introduced by Durbin along with Senators Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar, and Josh Hawley. It seeks to expand a provision in the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, which allowed people whose non-AI generated intimate images were shared without consent to sue. The bill was sponsored in the House by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been a victim of non-consensual intimate deepfakes herself.