Paris Hilton, Reps. AOC, Laurel Lee Unite to Combat AI Deepfake Abuse
'Before someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger’s imagination'
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WASHINGTON — Paris Hilton stood with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Thursday in support of legislation aimed at combating AI-generated deepfake pornography, as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) made the case for giving survivors the right to sue.
The DEFIANCE Act passed the Senate unanimously last week, and advocates in the House are pushing for swift passage. If it becomes law, it would be the first time victims have clear federal recourse when someone uses AI to create sexually explicit images or videos of them without consent.
Hilton got personal about why she feels the legislation needs to be signed into law. She revealed that over 100,000 explicit deepfake images of her have been created by AI and are floating around online. “Not one of them is real, not one of them is consensual,” she said. “And each time a new one appears that horrible feeling returns, that fear that someone somewhere is looking at it right now and thinking it’s real.”
The technology has changed everything about this kind of abuse.
“Before someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger’s imagination,” she told reporters. She called it an epidemic and pointed out that even with her resources, there’s nothing she can do to stop it under current law.
“Today I stand here without shame. I am Paris Hilton, a woman, a wife, a mom, a survivor, and what was done to me was wrong,” she said. She told Congress it’s time to act: “Let’s finally make it law.”
Lee laid out how the bill could help targets of the abuse, telling reporters it would let victims sue anyone who knowingly creates, distributes, or solicits non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes, or who just doesn’t bother checking whether the person depicted consented. The statute of limitations accounts for the fact that victims often don’t find out about these images right away — sometimes they surface months or years later. And there are privacy protections built in so victims aren’t put through hell just trying to get justice.
The numbers back up the urgency. Ocasio-Cortez said one in eight teenagers knows someone who’s been hit with AI deepfake harassment.
“While these images may be digital, the harm to victims is very real,” she said. “Women lose their jobs when they are targeted with this. Teenagers switch schools and children lose their lives.”
Lee noted the issue has managed to garner strong bipartisan support, with women on both sides of the aisle feeling it is crucial that the legislation be taken up swiftly.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to bring together members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to work on a shared priority,” she said. “We had an incredible coalition of Republicans and Democrats, all of whom rallied in protecting women and girls, and other individuals who had been victimized by this type of exploitation.”
But there’s one problem lawmakers are still grappling with: lawsuits cost money, and not everyone can afford a lawyer. Lee told 24Sight News she’s thinking about how to solve it, possibly by working with advocacy groups that could take on cases pro bono.
“Access to courts is well known [as an issue] in this type of civil case,” Lee, noting her background as a judge, said. “Many individuals and small businesses struggle to litigate righteous cases because of the expense associated with legal representation.”
She added that she’d like to work with advocacy groups to help victims obtain the necessary resources to seek justice.
“I think there’s a real interest in advocating for people who are victims of this type of behavior, and we would really be very receptive to trying to find creative solutions,” she said.
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