Taylor Swift AI images prompt US bill to tackle nonconsensual, sexual deepfakes

On Tuesday, a bill was introduced by US senators, aiming to criminalize the use of non-consensual, sexualized images generated by artificial intelligence. 

The measure comes in direct response to the proliferation of pornographic AI-made images of Taylor Swift on X, (formerly Twitter), reports The Guardian. 

This proposal would empower victims depicted in nude or sexually explicit "digital forgeries" to pursue a civil penalty against individuals who created or possessed the forgery intending to distribute it. 

It also extends the possibility of legal action to anyone who knowingly received the material, being aware that it was produced without consent.

Dick Durbin, the US Senate majority whip, and senators Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar and Josh Hawley are behind the bill, known as the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024, or the "Defiance Act."

"This month, fake, sexually-explicit images of Taylor Swift that were generated by artificial intelligence swept across social media platforms. Although the imagery may be fake, the harm to the victims from the distribution of sexually-explicit 'deepfakes' is very real," Durbin said in a press release.

Over the weekend, sexually suggestive and exaggerated images of Swift at football games gained widespread attention on X, amassing tens of millions of views, as per Twitter's metrics.