U.S. lawmakers are pushing for legislation criminalizing the creation of deepfake images in the wake of explicit fake photos featuring Taylor Swift that went viral on various social media platforms, including Twitter and Telegram. U.S. Representative Joe Morelle strongly condemned the dissemination of these images, calling them shocking. He emphasized the Intimate Images Deepfakes Prevention Act, a piece of legislation he authored, aiming to make non-consensual deepfakes a federal crime. Morelle urged urgent action on the issue, as there are currently no federal laws specifically addressing the sharing or creation of deepfake images.
Deepfakes leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to manipulate videos by altering facial features or bodies. Despite the absence of federal laws on deepfake images, some lawmakers are taking steps to address the issue. Representative Yvette Clarke noted that the situation involving Taylor Swift is not new, highlighting that women have been victims of this technology for years. Clarke emphasized that as AI advances, creating deepfakes becomes easier and more affordable. The legislative response includes the Intimate Images Deepfakes Prevention Act.
X, the platform where the explicit deepfake images surfaced, stated that it is actively removing such content and taking action against accounts spreading it. The platform affirmed its commitment to closely monitoring the situation to promptly address any further violations and ensure the removal of inappropriate content. In the UK, the Online Safety Act 2023 makes sharing deepfake porn illegal. The 2023 State of Deepfakes Report revealed that the majority of online deepfake content involves sexual content, with about 99% of individuals targeted by such content being women. Global concerns about AI-generated content have grown, with the World Economic Forum highlighting the adverse consequences in its 19th Global Risks Report.
Canada's national intelligence agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, has expressed concerns about disinformation campaigns using AI-generated deepfakes on the internet. In a report on June 12, the United Nations emphasized that AI-generated media poses a significant and urgent threat to information integrity, particularly on social media. The report highlights the increased risk of online disinformation due to rapid advances in technology, especially in generative AI, with a specific focus on deepfakes.
