Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) is emphasizing the need for federal legislation that adds protections around the spread of non-consensual artificial intelligence (AI) deepfake pornography.
In a video from TuesdayOcasio-Cortez has underscored the need for protections, like the bipartisan Defiance Act she is leading in the House, amid a rise in AI-generated nonconsensual pornography of prominent figures and everyday people.
“This is sexual violence,” Ocasio-Cortez said in the video.
The congresswoman said she was personally targeted by nonconsensual AI pornography. She spoke about her experience and the fight to combat non-consensual AI pornography in an interview with Rolling Stone published in April.
Other prominent figures have also been the target of high-profile incidents in the dissemination of non-consensual deepfake pornography. Explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift that spread online in January highlighted the problem, and the White House decided to call it “alarming.”
Ocasio-Cortez said the even more concerning issue is how this is increasingly putting “everyday people” at risk of “being targets of this type of sexual and reputational violence that is, at its core, exploitative.”
“And what’s even crazier is that right now there are no federal protections for anyone, regardless of their gender, if you are a victim of non-consensual deepfake porn,” she added.
Without protections in place, the White House last week launched a call to action to urge technology companies to make voluntary commitments to stop the monetization, creation and distribution of image-based sexual abuse.
“You may be wondering, ‘Why hasn’t this been treated as the emergency that it is?’ Well, maybe that has something to do with the fact that over 70% of Congress is an institutionally male and female issue around here. But we are wrapping this up today,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The bipartisan Defiance Act was introduced in March in the House and Senate.
This would create a federal civil right of action for victims of nonconsensual AI pornography, allowing them to seek accountability in court.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
