Senate passes bill to combat the spread of non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes
On Tuesday, the Senate passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a bill that criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate images (NCII) — including AI-generated deepfakes — and requires online platforms to have in place notice and takedown processes. The legislation was introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Senate and is led by Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA) in the House.
AI tools have accelerated the spread of NCII. Ninety-eight percent of all deepfake content online is explicit in nature, and 99 percent of the individuals those deepfakes target are women.
“There’s bipartisan momentum to tackle the issue of non-consensual deepfakes before Congress leaves town,” said ARI President Brad Carson. “All the ingredients for action are here – the public cares, advocacy groups are engaged, and members on both sides of the aisle want to tell parents they’re taking on explicit deepfakes. We can get this done.”
Tragically, AI-generated NCII has become increasingly common in American schools. Fifteen percent of children say they know of other children who have created or been a victim of synthetic NCII in their school just in the last year. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which runs a database used to flag and block child-sex material, has also noted a sharp uptick in reports of AI-generated CSAM in recent months.
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at responsibleinnovation.org.