A bipartisan group of 26 U.S. lawmakers have sent letters to seven major tech companies requesting updates on how the platforms plan to counter the growing prevalence of pornographic “deep fakes” on social media.
The number of artificially generated, sexually explicit impersonations of nonconsenting individuals increased by 550% from 2019 to 2023, with deep fake pornography now making up 98% of all deep fake videos online, the lawmakers cited in each of the seven letters addressed to Google, Apple, X, ByteDance, Snapchat, Microsoft and Meta.
“[Deep fake technology] has enabled abusers to create and disseminate realistic, non-consensual pornographic content, causing emotional, psychological, and reputational harm,” the lawmakers, led by Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and August Pfluger, R-Texas, wrote. “The spread of this content, often with little recourse for victims, underscores the need for stronger and effective protections.”
