Back in January, explicit deepfake images of Taylor Swift went viral on X, immediately prompting US lawmakers to finally take notice of the growing problem with non-consensual AI-generated porn. While Swift might be the most high-profile victim of this trend – other celebrities include Megan Thee Stallion and US senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) – the mainstreaming of generative AI has made it easier than ever to use a woman’s image or likeness without her consent.

Responding to this urgent issue, the US Senate has officially passed a bipartisan bill to protect victims of deepfake porn, as well as sexually explicit and non-consensual images created using AI. Titled the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act, the bill passed earlier this week (July 23) was led by Alexandra and allows people to sue those who produce, distribute or receive the deepfake porn – if they “knew or recklessly disregarded” the nonconsensual nature of the images. 

“Current laws don’t apply to deepfakes, leaving women and girls who suffer from this image-based sexual abuse without a legal remedy,” US Senator Dick Durbin posted on X ahead of the vote. “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.”

Previously, AOC has described the harmful effects of seeing her likeness used in a non-consensual deepfake. “There’s a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real,” she told Rolling Stone in March. “And once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. 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 digitising violent humiliation against other people.”

“Today marks an important step in the fight to protect survivors of non-consensual deepfake pornography,” AOC said in an official press statement, adding: “Over 90 percent of all deepfake videos made are nonconsensual sexually explicit images, and women are the targets nine times out of 10. The DEFIANCE Act would guarantee federal protections for survivors of nonconsensual deepfake pornography for the first time.”

“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,” she continued.

Meanwhile in the UK, the Criminal Justice Bill was amended in April to make creating sexually explicit deepfakes a criminal offence. The law however only focuses on the intentions of the perpetrator, rather than whether the victim has consented to the images or not. In contrast, the DEFIANCE bill allows for both adults and minors to sue individuals behind the deepfakes, which is certainly a step in the right direction.