Tell Tech Companies: Stop the harm created by the spread of non-consensual deepfakes.
Microsoft, Google, Twitter/X, Facebook, Amazon, and other leading AI labs, social media platforms, and cloud providers.
Do all that's in your power to stop the harm created by the spread of non-consensual deepfakes.
Some parts of solving the problem are harder than others, but there is plenty that can and should be done right now:
- AI companies (like Microsoft) should stop releasing software that has been shown to create harmful, non-consensual deepfakes, until they can prove that it is safe.
- Social media platforms (like Facebook and Twitter/X) should take much stronger steps to detect deepfakes; freeze accounts that appear to have distributed harmful, non-consensual deepfakes; and permanently ban those that have been determined to have done so.
- Cloud providers (like Amazon) should drop large websites that are clearly and overtly in the business of creating and distributing non-consensual deepfakes.
Why is this important?
What happened to Taylor Swift is horrible—fake images spread across the internet showing her performing sexual acts, seen by over 47 million people. But it’s not just Taylor. A growing number of women—including underage girls—have been targets of non-consensual deepfakes for years, with devastating consequences, including lost jobs and depression. While anyone can be the target of a deepfakes, in a variety of ways and for different reasons, 96% of all deepfakes on the internet are non-consensual explicit images and videos of women.
It’s been amazing to see Taylor’s supporters come together to expose what was happening. Yet for most women subjected to non-consensual deepfake porn, there’s no army to defend them—they’re left to deal with the consequences on their own, without recourse, and usually in silence.
Creating real consequences for perpetrators is important, and Congress is crafting new legislation to do that. It’s a great start, but it doesn't go far enough. It focuses only on users who make and distribute non-consensual deepfake porn—not the companies that enable it every level, and it shifts the burden to victims to find and go after their perpetrators, after the harm has been caused.
To put a real stop to the harm we need to look at the root of the problem: tech companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Google that have built, and continue to manage and profit from the technology that allows for the easy creation and distribution of deepfake porn. Even as it’s become clear these companies are perpetuating harm, they have failed to take adequate steps to stop it. Worse, many have actually pulled back safeguards and disbanded teams that would help curb the problem.
Join us in holding these companies accountable, and demanding they make changes to bring an end to the harm caused by non-consensual deepfakes.