Deepfake porn crackdown passes in Senate to allow people to sue

The Senate quietly passed legislation on Tuesday that would create stiffer penalties for explicit AI-manipulated images, known as deepfakes. 

The bill from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is designed to beef up federal penalties against the creation, distribution or solicitation of "non-consensual digital forgeries," or deepfakes. It's geared to act as a companion to a previously passed bill targeting revenge porn.

Durbin's Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits, or DEFIANCE Act, passed unanimously through the Senate on a fast-track vote. But it will still require the House to weigh in before it heads to President Donald Trump's desk. 

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His bill, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and introduced in the House by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., would allow victims of deepfake images to sue people who create, possess with intent to share, solicit, or share non-consensual items, and levy a fine of up to $250,000 per violation. 

"Give to the victims their day in court to hold those responsible who continue to publish these images at their expense," Durbin said on the Senate floor. "Today, we are one step closer to making this a reality."

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It also allows courts to order takedowns, deletions and injunctions to stop further spread of the images, provide privacy protections for victims during litigation, and sets up a statute of limitations of up to 10 years. 

Durbin said the backlash of deepfake images can be long-lasting, and people may go through depression, anxiety and fear, "and in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide." 

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"Imagine losing control over your own likeness and identity. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit content, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly, and cannot prevent new images from being created," Durbin said. 

The DEFIANCE Act comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for stiffer regulations and penalties for AI, particularly chatbots and potentially harmful interactions they have with children online. Notably, Durbin and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., teamed up last year for legislation that defines AI as a product, allowing people to sue for liabilities that stem from using AI systems. 

Durbin's successful effort in the upper chamber comes after lawmakers passed a separate bill, the Take It Down Act, last year geared to creating penalties for revenge porn. First Lady Melania Trump heavily lobbied for that bill, which was ultimately signed into law by Trump and is set to take effect in May.