New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the experience of seeing fake pornographic photos of her as retraumatizing, and comparable to "physical rape" in a new interview.
"[Deepfakes] parallels the same exact intention of physical rape and sexual assault, which is about power, domination, and humiliation," she told Rolling Stone.
Ocasio-Cortez, 34, is one of several public figures who have been targeted with deepfake AI porn. An analysis of the deepfake porn industry found there were more than 4,000 named celebrities who were the victim of similarly faked pictures, the Guardian reported.
"There's a shock to seeing images of yourself that someone could think are real," the congresswoman told Rolling Stone. "As a survivor of physical sexual assault, it adds a level of dysregulation. It resurfaces trauma ... in the middle of a f-ing meeting."
In addition to high profile adults, many adolescent girls have found themself subject to AI porn manufactured by their school classmates. One 14-year-old girl, in New Jersey, began fighting for better protections after fake nude pictures were shared throughout her school's student body.
"Kids are going to kill themselves over this," Ocasio-Cortez told Rolling Stone. "People are going to kill themselves over this."
The congresswoman introduced the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act of 2024 to Congress last month, which would prosecute those responsible for disseminating the images.
"We've struck a remarkable bipartisan note this Congress on protecting Americans - especially children - from exploitation online. This includes addressing the rise of non-consensual, sexually-explicit deepfakes, often targeted at women," U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said at the time.
"The deepfakes may not be real, but they cause very real harms. It's time to return power to the victims and give them a tool to demand justice from those responsible for these horrific images."
