Overview
- Hilton joined Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Laurel Lee at the Capitol to press Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a House vote on the DEFIANCE Act.
- The Senate approved the measure unanimously earlier this month after having also cleared a version in 2024.
- The bill would create a federal civil cause of action allowing people depicted in nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes to sue creators and distributors, with supporters describing potential statutory damages up to about $150,000.
- Advocates present the proposal as a complement to the Take It Down Act enacted last year, which focuses on removal of explicit AI images but does not provide monetary relief.
- The renewed push coincides with regulatory scrutiny of AI image-edit tools, including investigations into Elon Musk’s Grok by authorities in California, the European Union, Australia, and India.