Bipartisan bill would protect kids from AI deepfakes

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced a bipartisan bill Tuesday targeting pornographic photos posted online without a person’s consent.

The “TAKE IT DOWN Act,” if passed, would treat real photos and photos created using artificial intelligence the same way. It would also require social media companies to unpublish those photos within 48 hours, Cruz said.

“We deliberately borrowed the legal mechanism from copyright law and applied it here,” Cruz said. “If you put online a scene from the Lion King, that’ll get pulled down immediately.”

The Texas Senator said one of his constituents, Elliston Berry, inspired him to introduce this bill.

Berry, a 15-year-old, said she was a freshman in high school when a pornographic image of her circulated. She said someone created the image using artificial intelligence.

“He didn’t take someone else’s nude images and put their faces on them. Instead, he took their actual bodies, using AI, to make the images look more real,” said Anna McAdams, Elliston’s mom.

McAdams said she tried to contact Snapchat to get the photo taken down. They didn’t respond, McAdams said. That’s when she called Cruz’s office, she said.

“These images are child pornography,” Cruz said.

Cruz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and 11 other senators representing both parties cosponsored the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday the bipartisan “TAKE IT DOWN Act” was among his priorities targeting AI imagery.

“We’re going to look for a way to move those bills forward,” Schumer said.

Snapchat said it doesn’t allow pornography of any kind on its platform and said it has built in protections to prevent people from creating AI-generated imagery on its app.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com.