The U.S. Senate has approved a groundbreaking bill aimed at providing a legal recourse for individuals whose likenesses have been manipulated into sexually explicit deepfake images without their consent.
The legislation, known as the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), empowers victims to pursue civil damages against those responsible for creating such images. This measure was passed unanimously, with no objections from any senators during Tuesday’s session. The DEFIANCE Act is designed to complement the Take It Down Act, which criminalizes the distribution of non-consensual intimate images and mandates swift removal by social media platforms.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a key proponent of the bill, highlighted the issue of non-consensual undressing during a Senate address, specifically referencing the actions of the platform Grok. “Even when these harmful deepfake images are reported to Grok and X, formerly known as Twitter, they fail to act. They do not remove the images or assist the victims,” Durbin stated. While the Take It Down Act focuses on platforms like X, the DEFIANCE Act targets individuals who create such damaging content.
The global response to AI-generated non-consensual images is intensifying, with governments enacting new laws to protect victims. Recently, the United Kingdom introduced legislation criminalizing the production of non-consensual intimate deepfakes.
The DEFIANCE Act’s recent passage follows a 2024 incident involving non-consensual deepfake images on X, including explicit AI-generated images of singer Taylor Swift. Senators Durbin, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) spearheaded the bill, expanding on provisions from the 2022 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, which allowed victims of non-AI image violations to sue. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), herself targeted by deepfake imagery, sponsored the House version. Although the bill did not progress in the House last session, the Senate’s renewed approval places the onus on House leadership to advance the legislation for a presidential signature.
