Login
iscover
Share this article on:
Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
Powered by MOMENTUMMEDIA
US President Donald Trump has signed legislation criminalising the publication of AI-generated deepfake and revenge porn at a federal level.
The Take It Down Act was signed by Trump this week, introducing severe criminal penalties for those who publish non-consensual and explicit AI-generated photos or videos.
A number of US states have already outlawed the creation and publication of revenge porn and deepfakes, but this marks the first time that the content has been outlawed by the federal government.
“This will be the first-ever federal law to combat the distribution of explicit, imagery posted without subjects’ consent,” said Trump during the bill’s signing at the White House.
“We will not tolerate online sexual exploitation.”
Alongside punishing those who create and distribute the content, social media platforms and other online organisations will be given 48 hours following notice from the victim to remove the content and are also required to make an effort to remove duplicates.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the latter of which was alarmed to hear that Snapchat dismissed requests to remove AI-generated deepfake porn of a 14-year-old girl for almost a year.
First Lady Melania Trump also lobbied in support of the bill and has also signed the act following requests from Trump.
“C’mon, sign it anyway,” the President told first lady Melania.
“She deserves to sign it.”
Since resuming the role of first lady, Melania has been lobbying for the bill to House members at Capitol Hill, after it was approved by the Senate. She has revered its passing as a “national victory”.
“AI and social media are the digital candy for the next generation, sweet addictive and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children,” she said.
“But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponised, shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly.”
However, digital rights groups and free speech advocates have criticised the bill for being too broad, saying that it could lead to the censorship of legitimate, legal pornography, other images and even those critical of the government.
Referring to comments by Trump that said he would sensor his critics through the law, activism director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Jason Kelley, said the legislation may silence those actively speaking out against Trump.
“The takedown provision … lacks critical safeguards against frivolous or bad-faith takedown requests. Services will rely on automated filters, which are infamously blunt tools. They frequently flag legal content, from fair-use commentary to news reporting,” he said.
“The law’s tight time frame requires that apps and websites remove speech within 48 hours, rarely enough time to verify whether the speech is actually illegal. As a result, online service providers, particularly smaller ones, will likely choose to avoid the onerous legal risk by simply depublishing the speech rather than even attempting to verify it.”
Kelley added that the legislation creates privacy issues by putting pressure on social media platforms to monitor speech, encrypted or otherwise.
“Congress is using the wrong approach to helping people whose intimate images are shared without their consent,” he said.
“TAKE IT DOWN pressures platforms to actively monitor speech, including speech that is presently encrypted. The law thus presents a huge threat to security and privacy online.”
Be the first to hear the latest developments in the cyber industry.
