June 18, 2024

Manchin, Bipartisan Colleagues Introduce Bill To Protect Victims Of Ai-Generated Explicit Images On The Internet

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (I-WV), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Cybersecurity Subcommittee, joined his bipartisan colleagues in introducing the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act. This bipartisan legislation would criminalize the publication of non-consensual, intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII (or “deepfake pornography”), and require social media and similar websites to have procedures to remove content upon notification from a victim.

By requiring a notice and takedown process from websites that contain user generated content, including social media sites, the TAKE IT DOWN Act will ensure that, if the content is published online, victims are protected from being retraumatized again and again.

“I’m proud to join my bipartisan colleagues in introducing the TAKE IT DOWN Act to protect Americans, and especially young women and girls, from the disturbing trend of ‘deepfakes’ on the Internet,” said Senator Manchin. “As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, we have a responsibility in Congress to combat the threats that grow alongside of it, which includes holding individuals accountable for non-consensual, intimate images they post online. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation and, as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Cybersecurity Subcommittee, I will continue working to promote online safety for all West Virginians and Americans.”

The TAKE IT DOWN Act would protect and empower victims of real and deepfake NCII by: 

  • Criminalizing the publication of NCII in interstate commerce. The bill makes it unlawful for a person to knowingly publish NCII on social media and other online platforms. NCII is defined to include realistic, computer-generated pornographic images and videos that depict identifiable, real people. The bill also clarifies that a victim consenting to the creation of an authentic image does not mean that the victim has consented to its publication.
  • Protecting good faith efforts to assist victims. The bill permits the good faith disclosure of NCII, such as to law enforcement, in narrow cases.   
  • Requiring websites to take down NCII upon notice from the victim. Social media and other websites would be required to have in place procedures to remove NCII, pursuant to a valid request from a victim, within 48 hours. Websites must also make reasonable efforts to remove copies of the images. The FTC is charged with enforcement of this section.   
  • Protecting lawful speech. The bill is narrowly tailored to criminalize knowingly publishing NCII without chilling lawful speech. The bill conforms to current first amendment jurisprudence by requiring that computer-generated NCII meet a “reasonable person” test for appearing to realistically depict an individual.

  

In addition to Senator Manchin, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ted Budd (R-NC), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Todd Young (R-IN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

The full text of the legislation is available here.