U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has secured Senate passage of the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act). The bill, aimed at combating nonconsensual, sexually-explicit deepfake images, passed via unanimous consent.
“I rise today to ask the Senate to pass the DEFIANCE Act—bipartisan legislation that gives victims of nonconsensual, sexually-explicit deepfakes the tools they need to fight back against those who exploit them,” Durbin said on the Senate floor.
Durbin expressed gratitude to his Republican co-lead Senator Lindsey Graham and highlighted collaboration with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who introduced similar legislation in the House. “I want to thank the Senate cosponsors of this legislation, including my Republican co-lead, Senator Lindsey Graham. And I have been proud to partner with Representative Ocasio-Cortez, who introduced this legislation in the House with seven Republican and six Democratic cosponsors. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself is a publicly-confessed victim of explicit deepfakes. I commend her for working to create tools for victims in the fight against this despicable crime,” Durbin stated.
He referenced growing support for legislative action and described personal impacts on victims. “Imagine losing control over your own likeness and identity. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit content, 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 being in public. And in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide,” he said.
After no senator objected to his request for unanimous consent, Durbin remarked: “It feels good to see the Senate actually passing legislation. It’s rare. And on a measure of this importance, it’s important to come together as political parties. I want to thank Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her leadership on this issue and her bravery. Now, let’s pass this in the House and make it the law of the land.”
The DEFIANCE Act allows survivors of nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries to pursue civil action against those responsible for producing or distributing such content.
In 2024, although the Senate had previously approved the bill unanimously, it was not advanced by House Republicans.
The use of “deepfake” technology has led to a rapid increase in nonconsensual pornographic content online; one study cited showed that 96 percent of deepfake videos are nonconsensual pornography. Research indicates that since 2019 there has been a ninefold increase in these videos online; views have reached nearly four billion; monthly traffic to top sites increased 285 percent between July 2020 and July 2023; and search engines directed more than 25 million visits to leading sites in July 2023 alone.
The bill is sponsored by Senators Durbin and Graham along with Representatives Ocasio-Cortez and Laurel Lee (R-FL-15). Other original sponsors include Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Mike Lee (R-UT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Peter Welch (D-VT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Josh Hawley (R-MO); as well as Representatives Kat Cammack (R-FL-03), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-12), Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), Ted Lieu (D-CA-36), Nancy Mace (R-SC-06), Max Miller (R-OH-07), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-07), and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ-02).
Endorsements come from organizations such as National Women’s Law Center and National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, where Durbin holds a leadership position, plays a key role in reviewing federal judicial matters and legislation related to justice issues nationwide. This committee influences public safety policy through its oversight functions across judicial nominations and constitutional rights reviews.
According to its official website, the committee operates from Washington D.C., oversees hearings with senators from both parties participating under chair leadership, evaluates laws affecting civil rights nationally, supervises law enforcement entities federally, and provides public access to its proceedings.
