Senate-Passed Bill Outlawing AI-Generated Explicit Deepfakes Moves To House
The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously approved the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act, or DEFIANCE Act, a bipartisan effort to strengthen legal protections for individuals targeted by nonconsensual deepfake imagery. The bill now proceeds to the House of Representatives for consideration.
The measure would allow individuals depicted in sexually explicit deepfake images or videos — digital fabrications created without their consent — to pursue civil damages of at least $150,000 per violation against persons responsible for creating or sharing such content.
Legislators who supported the bill said existing legal frameworks are insufficient to address the growing prevalence of deepfake technology and the unique harms it causes. They noted the legislation builds on earlier federal and state laws aimed at curbing nonconsensual intimate imagery, but expands the scope and clarity of remedies available under federal civil law.
Deepfake content — synthetic media produced using artificial intelligence and machine learning — has surged in recent years, raising concerns in Washington about privacy, harassment, fraud, and national security. Lawmakers from both parties have pushed a series of proposals in recent sessions to update laws governing digital impersonation and nonconsensual imagery.
Earlier legislative efforts focused on criminal penalties for creating or distributing explicit deepfakes of public officials or election candidates, or unauthorized alterations of videos used in political context. Other bills aimed to enhance law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute deepfake-related fraud and identity theft.
The DEFIANCE Act differs from those proposals by creating a federal civil right of action, enabling private individuals — not just government prosecutors — to seek monetary damages in federal court. The bill would supplement state laws that vary widely in enforcement and penalties related to deepfake and revenge-porn imagery.
Supporters have argued that civil remedies are crucial because many victims face ongoing reputational harm and emotional distress long after illicit content is published. Civil suits, proponents say, can provide both compensation and deterrence.
If the House approves the DEFIANCE Act and the president signs it into law, the new provisions would expand legal avenues for victims of nonconsensual deepfakes and related digital forgeries. Advocates for stronger protections have said the approach could serve as a model for future legislation addressing other forms of digitally manipulated content.
Opposition in the Senate was nonexistent, reflecting bipartisan agreement on the need to update legal tools in the face of rapid advances in artificial intelligence and digital media technologies.
The bill’s proponents say it represents a significant step in the federal government’s response to technology that can create convincing but fraudulent depictions of real people, often used to harass, humiliate or exploit victims.
Meanwhile, social media influencer and entrepreneur Paris Hilton joined Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in announcing a new collaborative effort this week aimed at combating the creation and distribution of AI-generated sexually explicit imagery without consent.
The initiative, unveiled Thursday, seeks to raise awareness of the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence tools that can produce realistic deepfake pornography using the likenesses of real individuals. The effort calls for legislative and technological solutions to protect potential victims and hold creators and distributors accountable.
Hilton, who has previously spoken publicly about being targeted by nonconsensual explicit content earlier in her career, said that the proliferation of AI tools “makes it easier than ever” for deceptive imagery to spread and cause harm. She urged lawmakers and technology companies to act urgently to establish safeguards.
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, emphasized the need for stronger legal frameworks that can address the unique challenges posed by AI-generated content. She noted that traditional privacy and harassment statutes may not fully encompass the nuances of AI-enabled manipulation.
The pair’s announcement follows increased attention from lawmakers and advocacy groups concerned about how advances in artificial intelligence intersect with issues of consent, privacy and online safety. AI researchers and civil liberties organizations have also called for clearer standards and potential regulatory measures to limit the misuse of image synthesis technologies.
Obama Accuses JD Vance Of Promoting ‘Blood And Soil’ Politics
Former President Barack Obama rarely mentions Vice President JD Vance by name, but that changed this week with one of his sharpest public attacks since Vance took office.
The comments immediately fueled speculation that Democrats are beginning to focus more attention on the vice president as Republicans look ahead to the post-Trump era.
Speaking Thursday during a conversation with author Malcolm Gladwell, Obama accused Vance of promoting what he described as a “blood and soil” vision of America, despite being married to Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Obama made the remarks while discussing the Reconstruction era and arguing that many of the same debates over citizenship, voting rights and national identity continue today.
“We have a politics now that at least one of our major parties has been captured by politics that is not that subtle about suggesting that ‘We the people’ means a certain kind of people,” Obama said.
“When you have the vice president, current vice president, making a speech that is basically a blood and soil version of ‘We the people,’ that it matters who your parents were and how long they’ve been here despite him being married to a daughter of an immigrant himself.”
The phrase “blood and soil” is historically associated with Nazi Germany and white nationalist ideology.
Obama went on to argue that debates over who belongs in America remain central to the nation’s politics.
“That echoes, then, ideas about who can be a citizen, who belongs, who gets to make decisions,” he said.
Gladwell followed by accusing Vance of hypocrisy, arguing that the vice president was making what he called a nativist argument despite his own family’s immigrant background.
Obama agreed.
“That is progress,” Obama said.
“Listen, hypocrisy is progress. It is, because it means that you feel guilty enough to either lie to yourself or others.”
Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Vance’s office for comment.
Obama did not identify the specific speech he was criticizing, but Vance’s most recent nationally televised remarks came during Independence Day celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday.
In that speech, Vance encouraged Americans to reject what he called a “two-dimensional view” of the country focused only on its historical failures.
“So what I’d ask you to do, my fellow Americans, on our 250th birthday, is to reject the two-dimensional view of your fellow citizens and reject the two-dimensional view of your country,” Vance said.
“Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness.”
He also emphasized that America’s accomplishments were achieved by “a common people working towards a common future.”
Obama has generally avoided making Vance a regular target since the vice president took office.
One notable exception came during the 2024 presidential campaign when then-Vice President Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
Without naming Vance directly, Obama contrasted Harris’ choice with the Republican ticket.
“When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, it says a lot about who they are and what kind of president they’ll be,” Obama said at the time, Fox News reported.
Political observers have increasingly discussed Vance as a potential frontrunner for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, though he has not announced any plans to run.
Against that backdrop, Obama’s unusually direct criticism is likely to fuel speculation that some Democrats are beginning to sharpen their message against a politician they view as a likely future standard-bearer for the Republican Party. While no Democratic leaders have publicly described their strategy in those terms, prominent figures often begin drawing contrasts with potential future rivals well before a presidential campaign officially begins.
Whether that proves to be the case remains to be seen, but Obama’s remarks marked one of his most pointed critiques of Vance to date and ensured the vice president once again found himself at the center of the national political conversation.
