Floor SpeechBipartisan2026-01-13

DISRUPT EXPLICIT FORGED IMAGES AND NON-CONSENSUAL EDITS ACT OF 2025

TaxesForeign PolicyTradeTechnology

Context

On 2026-01-13, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) delivered a floor speech titled "DISRUPT EXPLICIT FORGED IMAGES AND NON-CONSENSUAL EDITS ACT OF 2025" in the Senate. The speech addressed taxes and also covered foreign policy, trade policy. It referenced legislation including S143, S147, S144, among other bills.

Full Text

DISRUPT EXPLICIT FORGED IMAGES AND NON-CONSENSUAL EDITS ACT OF 2025

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S143-S147] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] DISRUPT EXPLICIT FORGED IMAGES AND NON-CONSENSUAL EDITS ACT OF 2025 Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it has been my good fortune and honor to serve in this Chamber for many years and to represent my home State of Illinois. I can reflect for a moment about the changes in the Senate Chamber in the time that I have been here. I am afraid it would take me too long to express my thoughts on that at the expense of the regular business of this Chamber. But we have reached a point where there are few and far between moments where we come together and agree on something the American people think is important. A year ago, I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee--for 4 years. We considered many judicial nominees and many pieces of legislation in that committee. We were evenly divided or closely divided during the entire period of time. I think we achieved quite a few things despite those divisions. We approved more judicial nominees for Federal judgeships in that 4- year period of time than any 4-year period in the history of the U.S. Senate. It took 80 percent of the votes to be bipartisan for that to happen. So I tried as chairman to always find something we just might agree on, Democrats and Republicans would agree. The issue which I am going to address very briefly this morning is one of those issues. There was a time when the Senate Judiciary Committee was so equally and evenly divided that people thought we would accomplish nothing, but [[Page S144]] there came an issue where there was a consensus among Democrats and Republicans, and it is one that every parent and grandparent--I think every individual--will understand. Have you seen your kids or grandkids lately? Have you noticed what they are doing? They are looking at this virtually all day long if you let them. It is a concern for many conscientious parents that what is being broadcast on those cell phones could be life-altering and -changing for young people, and that is one of the issues I will address this morning. You see, during the period of time when I chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, we considered the negative impact that these cell phones and laptops have on children. It is frightening. Parents came and testified before us that their kids--normal, happy, productive, good students--in a short period of time were captivated by laptops and cell phones into changes in attitude, changes in conduct. Sadly, some of the children took their own lives because of their exposure to what happened on these devices. It is heartbreaking. I recall one in particular: a young, African-American, high school student--a track star at his school--who got swept into some sort of broadcast on social media and in the span of 19 hours became so despondent and excited and emotional, he harmed himself and took his own life. The parents couldn't understand it. They didn't see it coming. And when they reflected on what was being done, it was an outrage. There is another thing going on which everyone should be aware of, and if you look closely on television, you might just spot warnings. It is this whole issue of deepfakes, AI, taking what looks to be real and broadcasting it as reality when, in fact, it is not. Last Congress, we considered a measure which I introduced and would like to ask for passage today. There will be a unanimous consent request made at the end of my statement. If that unanimous consent request passes, and I hope it does with bipartisan support, it will go to the House of Representatives for their consideration. It will be miraculous. We just might pass a bill. We just might create a law. Stay tuned. Let me tell you what it is all about. I rise today to ask the Senate to pass the DEFIANCE Act--bipartisan legislation that gives victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the tools to fight back against those who would exploit them. I want to thank the Senate sponsors of this legislation, including my Republican colleague Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. I told you it was bipartisan; it is. I have been proud to partner with a person I don't know well on a personal basis, but I certainly have seen her work. Her name is Representative Ocasio-Cortez. She represents the city of New York. She introduced legislation in the House with seven Republicans and six Democratic cosponsors. So her measure was bipartisan as it passed the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself is a publicly confessed and admitted victim of explicit deepfakes. I commend her for working to create tools for victims in the fight against this despicable crime. She has been an innocent victim, and she has spoken out to spare others what she has been through. In 2025, the TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law. This bipartisan legislation makes it a Federal crime to knowingly publish or threaten to publish nonconsensual intimate images on social media. The DEFIANCE Act, which provides victims with a civil remedy--a remedy in court-- builds on the progress of the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The vast majority of American people support prohibiting nonconsensual, sexually explicit, deepfake images, with one survey finding that 85 percent of Republicans and Democrats support this measure. That is why I am hopeful it will pass today and be considered favorably by the House, and that is why, last Congress, the Senate unanimously passed this measure. We didn't get it done then, and we are returning to it now. The Senate should pass this bill again, and the House should take it up quickly as the problem of nonconsensual, sexually explicit, deepfake images continues to spread. With the push of a button, generative AI can swap someone's face onto another person's body, remove that person's clothing so they appear nude, or undress someone to show them in lingerie or other exposed positions. Recent reporting details how users of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, can ask its AI chatbot Grok to undress women and underage girls in photos. Grok will comply with requests to show subjects in various states of undress with images which I won't repeat for the record, but they are horrible. Even after these reports, X still has not prevented Grok from creating these exploitative images. Let me make sure you understand what I just said. Even after these terrible, deepfake, harming images are pointed out to Grok and to X, formerly Twitter, they do not respond. They don't take the images off the internet. They don't come to the rescue of people who are victims. That is why this legislation is critical, because this legislation says that if they are guilty of such reckless misconduct, they can be sued for it and held civilly liable for the damages. Imagine losing control of your own likeness and identity. Imagine that happening to you when you are in high school. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit conduct, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly, and cannot prevent new images from being created. The consequences can be profound. Victims may endure threats to their employment, education, or reputation or suffer additional criminal activity, such as extortion and stalking. Many experience depression, anxiety, and fear of being in public, and in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez described her own reaction being depicted this way without her consent. She said: There's a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real. While prominent women are often the target for nonconsensual, sexual deepfakes, sadly, the victims can be virtually anyone. There are distressing reports of high school students struggling to respond to this crisis. In March 2024, at least 22 students at a high school in McHenry County, in my home State of Illinois, learned they were depicted in deepfakes circulating online. One was a doctored version of two female students taken at the school prom. I will not describe in detail what that deepfake did, but it had to be crushing for these young women and their families. Sadly, we are seeing an explosion of these images. One researcher found that the number of nonconsensual pornographic deepfake videos available online has increased 900 percent--900 percent--since 2019. Such videos have been viewed almost 4 billion times--4 billion. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the number of AI-generated child sexual abuse images increased from 5,000 in 2023 to over 485,000 in the first 6 months of 2025. Tragically, currently, victims have no civil legal remedy to pursue justice. The DEFIANCE Act changes that and gives victims their day in court. The bill would permit victims to bring civil cases against those who produce, disclose, solicit, or possess with intent to disclose sexually explicit deepfakes, while knowingly or recklessly disregarding that the person depicted did not consent to the content. I am proud to have collaborated with survivor advocates on this bill. Their lived experience and leadership have shaped this legislation. Congress needs to act. It is past time to give victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the tools they need to fight back. I am going to make a unanimous consent request on this bipartisan legislation. Senator Graham could not join me on the floor today, but he is a cosponsor and supporter of this bipartisan bill. I make the following unanimous consent: Notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 1837 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. [[Page S145]] The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The clerk will repo

Referenced legislation: SJRES84, SJRES84, S1837

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DISRUPT EXPLICIT FORGED IMAGES AND NON-CONSENSUAL EDITS ACT OF 2025 Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S143-S147] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] DISRUPT EXPLICIT FORGED IMAGES AND NON-CONSENSUAL EDITS ACT OF 2025 Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it has been my good fortune and honor to serve in this Chamber for many years and to represent my home State of Illinois. I can reflect for a moment about the changes in the Senate Chamber in the time that I have been here. I am afraid it would take me too long to express my thoughts on that at the expense of the regular business of this Chamber. But we have reached a point where there are few and far between moments where we come together and agree on something the American people think is important. A year ago, I was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee--for 4 years. We considered many judicial nominees and many pieces of legislation in that committee. We were evenly divided or closely divided during the entire period of time. I think we achieved quite a few things despite those divisions. We approved more judicial nominees for Federal judgeships in that 4- year period of time than any 4-year period in the history of the U.S. Senate. It took 80 percent of the votes to be bipartisan for that to happen. So I tried as chairman to always find something we just might agree on, Democrats and Republicans would agree. The issue which I am going to address very briefly this morning is one of those issues. There was a time when the Senate Judiciary Committee was so equally and evenly divided that people thought we would accomplish nothing, but [[Page S144]] there came an issue where there was a consensus among Democrats and Republicans, and it is one that every parent and grandparent--I think every individual--will understand. Have you seen your kids or grandkids lately? Have you noticed what they are doing? They are looking at this virtually all day long if you let them. It is a concern for many conscientious parents that what is being broadcast on those cell phones could be life-altering and -changing for young people, and that is one of the issues I will address this morning. You see, during the period of time when I chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, we considered the negative impact that these cell phones and laptops have on children. It is frightening. Parents came and testified before us that their kids--normal, happy, productive, good students--in a short period of time were captivated by laptops and cell phones into changes in attitude, changes in conduct. Sadly, some of the children took their own lives because of their exposure to what happened on these devices. It is heartbreaking. I recall one in particular: a young, African-American, high school student--a track star at his school--who got swept into some sort of broadcast on social media and in the span of 19 hours became so despondent and excited and emotional, he harmed himself and took his own life. The parents couldn't understand it. They didn't see it coming. And when they reflected on what was being done, it was an outrage. There is another thing going on which everyone should be aware of, and if you look closely on television, you might just spot warnings. It is this whole issue of deepfakes, AI, taking what looks to be real and broadcasting it as reality when, in fact, it is not. Last Congress, we considered a measure which I introduced and would like to ask for passage today. There will be a unanimous consent request made at the end of my statement. If that unanimous consent request passes, and I hope it does with bipartisan support, it will go to the House of Representatives for their consideration. It will be miraculous. We just might pass a bill. We just might create a law. Stay tuned. Let me tell you what it is all about. I rise today to ask the Senate to pass the DEFIANCE Act--bipartisan legislation that gives victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the tools to fight back against those who would exploit them. I want to thank the Senate sponsors of this legislation, including my Republican colleague Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. I told you it was bipartisan; it is. I have been proud to partner with a person I don't know well on a personal basis, but I certainly have seen her work. Her name is Representative Ocasio-Cortez. She represents the city of New York. She introduced legislation in the House with seven Republicans and six Democratic cosponsors. So her measure was bipartisan as it passed the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself is a publicly confessed and admitted victim of explicit deepfakes. I commend her for working to create tools for victims in the fight against this despicable crime. She has been an innocent victim, and she has spoken out to spare others what she has been through. In 2025, the TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law. This bipartisan legislation makes it a Federal crime to knowingly publish or threaten to publish nonconsensual intimate images on social media. The DEFIANCE Act, which provides victims with a civil remedy--a remedy in court-- builds on the progress of the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The vast majority of American people support prohibiting nonconsensual, sexually explicit, deepfake images, with one survey finding that 85 percent of Republicans and Democrats support this measure. That is why I am hopeful it will pass today and be considered favorably by the House, and that is why, last Congress, the Senate unanimously passed this measure. We didn't get it done then, and we are returning to it now. The Senate should pass this bill again, and the House should take it up quickly as the problem of nonconsensual, sexually explicit, deepfake images continues to spread. With the push of a button, generative AI can swap someone's face onto another person's body, remove that person's clothing so they appear nude, or undress someone to show them in lingerie or other exposed positions. Recent reporting details how users of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, can ask its AI chatbot Grok to undress women and underage girls in photos. Grok will comply with requests to show subjects in various states of undress with images which I won't repeat for the record, but they are horrible. Even after these reports, X still has not prevented Grok from creating these exploitative images. Let me make sure you understand what I just said. Even after these terrible, deepfake, harming images are pointed out to Grok and to X, formerly Twitter, they do not respond. They don't take the images off the internet. They don't come to the rescue of people who are victims. That is why this legislation is critical, because this legislation says that if they are guilty of such reckless misconduct, they can be sued for it and held civilly liable for the damages. Imagine losing control of your own likeness and identity. Imagine that happening to you when you are in high school. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit conduct, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly, and cannot prevent new images from being created. The consequences can be profound. Victims may endure threats to their employment, education, or reputation or suffer additional criminal activity, such as extortion and stalking. Many experience depression, anxiety, and fear of being in public, and in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez described her own reaction being depicted this way without her consent. She said: There's a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real. While prominent women are often the target for nonconsensual, sexual deepfakes, sadly, the victims can be virtually anyone. There are distressing reports of high school students struggling to respond to this crisis. In March 2024, at least 22 students at a high school in McHenry County, in my home State of Illinois, learned they were depicted in deepfakes circulating online. One was a doctored version of two female students taken at the school prom. I will not describe in detail what that deepfake did, but it had to be crushing for these young women and their families. Sadly, we are seeing an explosion of these images. One researcher found that the number of nonconsensual pornographic deepfake videos available online has increased 900 percent--900 percent--since 2019. Such videos have been viewed almost 4 billion times--4 billion. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the number of AI-generated child sexual abuse images increased from 5,000 in 2023 to over 485,000 in the first 6 months of 2025. Tragically, currently, victims have no civil legal remedy to pursue justice. The DEFIANCE Act changes that and gives victims their day in court. The bill would permit victims to bring civil cases against those who produce, disclose, solicit, or possess with intent to disclose sexually explicit deepfakes, while knowingly or recklessly disregarding that the person depicted did not consent to the content. I am proud to have collaborated with survivor advocates on this bill. Their lived experience and leadership have shaped this legislation. Congress needs to act. It is past time to give victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes the tools they need to fight back. I am going to make a unanimous consent request on this bipartisan legislation. Senator Graham could not join me on the floor today, but he is a cosponsor and supporter of this bipartisan bill. I make the following unanimous consent: Notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 1837 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. [[Page S145]] The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sheehy). The clerk will repo Referenced legislation: SJRES84, SJRES84, S1837