Public Citizen Commends Majority Leader Schumer for Championing the DEFIANCE Act
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brought the Defending Each and Every Person from Intrusive and False A.I. Nonconsensual Content Exposure (DEFIANCE) Act to the floor for a vote. The Senate unanimously passed the bill aimed at combating the spread of sexually explicit AI-generated “deepfakes.”
Richard Anthony, emerging technologies policy advocate at Public Citizen, issued the following statement in response:
“The DEFIANCE Act addresses an urgent need to protect individuals from the malicious creation and distribution of nonconsensual intimate deepfakes.
“By passing the DEFIANCE Act unanimously, the Senate has taken a strong stance against the use of AI to harass or abuse people online, thus ensuring that victims — who are primarily women and children — have a path to justice. It is imperative that we establish guardrails to prevent AI’s worst abuses and protect individuals from grave harm.
“We commend Senator Durbin for his excellent work on this bill and thank Majority Leader Schumer for his leadership in bringing this crucial legislation to a floor vote. The House should quickly take up this legislation and pass it without delay.”