Senator who blocked Democrat bill to penalize non-consensual deepfakes effort hops on Ted Cruz’s new effort

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) is co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation to protect victims of deepfake revenge porn after she singlehandedly blocked a separate, similar bipartisan bill.

On June 12, Lummis was the only senator to block Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) request for unanimous consent on his legislation, a routine procedure generally used for non-controversial moves.

The Daily Dot previously reported that Lummis is financially backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which had invested in an artificial intelligence platform that had profited from nonconsensual sexual deepfake images of real people.

Durbin's proposed DEFIANCE Act aimed "to improve rights to relief for individuals affected by non-consensual activities involving intimate digital forgeries," but Lummis argued that its language was "overly broad in scope" and "could lead to unintended consequences that stifle American technological innovation and development.”

"I strongly support the intent behind this legislation," Lummis said before detailing her objection. "We must combat the deeply harmful practice of non-consensual deepfake pornography."

On June 18, Lummis announced her support of an anti-deepfake porn bill proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

According to Cruz, his legislation would criminalize the publication of non-consensual sexually explicit imagery, including that which is AI-generated, and would require platforms to have procedures to remove such content within 48 hours after being notified by a victim.

"Many women and girls are forever harmed by these crimes, having to live with being victimized again and again,” Cruz said of the bill, adding that the legislation "will protect and empower all victims of this heinous crime."

Cruz's bill boasts eight Republican, six Democratic, and one independent (Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia) co-sponsors. Durbin's bill had three Republican, two Democratic, and one independent (Angus King of Maine) co-sponsors.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is the only lawmaker to have co-sponsored both proposals.

“Artificial intelligence is the future and provides an infinite amount of possibilities of how this new technology can be used to improve lives around not only in this country, but across the entire globe. With any new industry comes the need to ensure it is not being used by bad actors, and AI is no different,” Lummis said in a statement. “I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation to protect people against malicious and dangerous deepfakes that also allows innovation to continue in the United States.”

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