Ocasio-Cortez at an Energy and Commerce Committee markup May 13. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
A bill to give legal recourse to victims of intimate digital forgeries will be reintroduced in the coming days, following the signing of another bill to crack down on those forgeries, a source familiar told Axios.
Why it matters: The DEFIANCE Act, led by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Laurel Lee, has bipartisan support and is viewed by advocates as being on a gliding path.
- The action in Congress comes right after President Trump signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act on Monday, another bill to combat child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate images.
What we're watching: Sexual Violence Prevention Association founder and CEO Omny Miranda Martone said DEFIANCE is likely to move through Congress similarly to TAKE IT DOWN — passing the Senate "very quickly," and then the House a few months later.
- Martone's organization helped write DEFIANCE and pass TAKE IT DOWN.
- Sponsors and advocates view the two bills as working in tandem, with DEFIANCE a necessary next step.
What's inside: While TAKE IT DOWN criminalizes the publication of CSAM and NCII, DEFIANCE would create a civil right of action for victims.
- Unlike TAKE IT DOWN, DEFIANCE has the support of free speech advocates like the Center for Democracy and Technology.
What they're saying: A staffer for AOC said DEFIANCE is "one tool in the toolkit."
- "We definitely see this as a first step and think there's a lot more work to be done on AI," the staffer said.
- Neither bill goes after tech's liability shield to hold companies accountable — a policy solution that historically has struggled to get across the finish line, but that some argue is necessary to enacting the strongest protections for people online.
The intrigue: First Lady Melania Trump's backing was crucial to getting TAKE IT DOWN across the finish line, and her support could be useful again with DEFIANCE.
- "Her support and Trump's support of the TAKE IT DOWN Act demonstrate powerful momentum and bipartisan support for addressing digital sexual violence," Martone said, adding that the first lady is not currently involved.
What's next: Sens. Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham are leading efforts in the upper chamber.
- We expect DEFIANCE and other bills to come up during a Senate Judiciary deepfakes hearing on Wednesday.
