Durbin on passage of the DEFIANCE Act: “On a measure of this importance, it’s important to come together as political parties. Now, let’s pass this in the House and make it the law of the land”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today successfully passed his Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act) on the Senate floor via a live unanimous consent request.
“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 began.
“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 continued.
Durbin then outlined historic momentum for his DEFIANCE Act, including the passage of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, polling showing a supermajority of Americans supporting the measure, and the tragic proliferation of non-consensual, sexually-explicit deepfakes on X’s Grok.
“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,” Durbin continued.
Durbin then made the unanimous consent request to pass his legislation. No Senator objected.
“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,” concluded Durbin.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
The bipartisan, bicameral DEFIANCE Act would grant survivors the right to take civil action against individuals who knowingly produce, distribute, solicit and receive, or possess with the intent to distribute nonconsensual sexually-explicit digital forgeries.
The bill is championed by Durbin, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and U.S. Representative Laurel Lee (R-FL-15). In 2024, the Senate unanimously passed the DEFIANCE Act, but House Republicans stalled the bill.
The volume of “deepfake” content available online is increasing exponentially as the technology used to create it has become more accessible to the public. The overwhelming majority of this material is sexually-explicit and is produced without the consent of the person depicted. A 2019 study found that 96 percent of “deepfake” videos were nonconsensual pornography.
One researcher found that:
The bill text is available here.
In addition to Durbin and Graham, original cosponsors of the DEFIANCE Act are U.S. 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).
In addition to Ocasio-Cortez and Lee, original cosponsors of the DEFIANCE Act are U.S. 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).
The legislation is endorsed by the National Women’s Law Center, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Raven, Public Citizen, Sexual Violence Prevention Association, Democratic Women’s Caucus, UltraViolet, Joyful Heart Foundation, My Image My Choice, Reclaim Coalition, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, American Association of University Women (AAUW), End Rape on Campus, Foundation Ra, Explain the Asterisk, Protect America’s Daughters, Sexual Assault Response Coalition (SARC), Students Against Sexual Assault, What Were You Wearing, Rooting Movements, Recognize Violence, Change Culture (RVCC), and Street Grace.
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