Paris Hilton joins House lawmakers to push deepfake bill

Paris Hilton lent her star quality to a cause close to her heart Thursday, helping Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Laurel Lee promote the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act.

The legislation, shortened to the DEFIANCE Act, would let victims file civil suits against those who create, distribute or possess the artificial intelligence-generated images.

Ms. Hilton, who joined Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, and Ms. Lee, Florida Republican, on Capitol Hill, shared a story of her experience of an intimate video being shared of her when she was 19.

“People called it a scandal. It wasn’t. It was abuse. There were no laws at the time to protect me. There weren’t even words for what had been done to me. The internet was still new, and so was the cruelty that came with it,” Ms. Hilton said.

“Today, what happened to me then is happening now to millions of women and girls in a new and more terrifying way,” she said. “Before, someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger’s imagination. Deepfake pornography has become an epidemic.”

She said she knows there are “over 100,000 explicit deep fake images” of her circulating on the internet.

“Not one of them is real. Not one of them is consensual. And each time a new one appears, that horrible feeling returns,” she said.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously last week. It was sponsored by Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, and came at a time when a lot of attention is on X’s AI chatbot Grok and the sexually explicit photos it was creating.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said that over 90% of images created by AI have been nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes and 90% have targeted women. One in 8 teenagers knows a friend who has been targeted by an AI deepfake, she said.

“As a prominent female elected official, I, as well as many others here, have spoken about our experience being targeted by AI deepfake pornography,” she said. “Not only is this a coalition of legislators; this is a coalition of survivors of sexual harassment and, in some cases, abuse and assault.”

She urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, to put the bill on the floor as soon as possible after having “positive and encouraging conversations” with him. The House is out for recess next week.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and Ms. Lee were joined by other women co-sponsors, including GOP Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Democratic Reps. Sarah McBride of Delaware and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

Another deepfake bill, signed into law last year by President Trump, aims to crack down on the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images. 

First lady Melania Trump called the signing of the bill a “national victory that will help parents and families protect children from online exploitation.”

“Artificial intelligence 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 weaponized, shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly.”

The difference? The Take it Down Act criminalized the publication of deepfakes and intimate images. The DEFIANCE Act would let victims sue those who create or distribute the replicas.