Alongside the rising popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) has been the growth in non-consensual intimate imagery, more commonly known as revenge porn, which several Republicans are targeting with the introduction of a new bill.
U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) on July 10 sponsored the bipartisan Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Network (TAKE IT DOWN) Act, H.R. 8989, which would require covered platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery and criminalizes their publication.
H.R. 8989, which has five original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and Madeleine Dean (D-PA), aims to protect victims of real and deepfake revenge pornography.
“The alarming rise of deepfakes is threatening to destroy innocent individuals’ and families’ lives,” Rep. Salazar said. “Non-consensual deepfake imagery is a cancer that can no longer go untreated. The TAKE IT DOWN Act is the best way to hold online platforms accountable and protect victims of these horrendous crimes.”
If enacted, H.R. 8989 would criminalize the publication of or the threat to publish non-consensual intimate imagery in interstate commerce and would require websites to take it down upon notice from the victims within 48 hours, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“There is an urgent need for Congress to act by putting protections in place for victims of exploitative deep fakes and levying consequences on those creating and facilitating this sickening practice,” said Rep. Pfluger. “As a father to three young girls, I am proud to join this bipartisan bicameral effort to prevent explicit material from circulating and harming innocent victims.”
H.R. 8989 also would permit the good faith disclosure of non-consensual intimate imagery for the purpose of law enforcement or medical treatment, the summary says, and would require that computer-generated non-consensual intimate imagery meet a ‘reasonable person’ test for appearing to realistically depict an individual, so as to conform to current First Amendment jurisprudence, the summary states.
“If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s the need to protect our vulnerable children and grandchildren,” Rep. Buchanan said. “While the rise in AI brings countless potential benefits, I am deeply disturbed by the rise of so-called revenge porn and explicit AI-generated images of young girls circulating on social media.”
H.R. 8989 is the companion bill to the same-named S. 4569, introduced in June by U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
The TAKE IT DOWN Act is supported by more than three dozen organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, the American College of Pediatricians, the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Collegiate Athletics Association, Major League Baseball, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, among many others.