Lindsey Graham invokes Taylor Swift to support his new bill

Explicit deepfakes are a huge issue online, but this new bill (and Taylor Swift) may change that.

Images of other people created by artificial intelligence, or deepfakes, have taken the internet by storm. More falsified or doctored images of celebrities continue to pop up, with Swift being the latest to fall victim to the AI trend.

However, a new bill could change all of that. The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act would allow a civil right of action against those who’ve produced or possessed sexually explicit “digital forgeries” of an individual without their consent and with the intention to share them publicly.

Introduced by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Josh Hawley (R-MO), the DEFIANCE Act would combat the growing number of sexually explicit AI pictures surfacing “used to exploit and harass women — particularly public figures, politicians, and celebrities.” While Swift’s case is the latest, she’s among numerous individuals who’ve fallen victim to this recent online trend.

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She is, however, probably the most influential person to be impacted by this AI-generated images, an influence of which both conservatives and liberals have taken notice. The Biden administration previously announced that, as part of their influencer strategy, they were seeking out Swift’s endorsement due to her influence on her fans, the Swifties.

Swift, who endorsed Biden in 2020, boasts over 279 million followers on Instagram and a single post from the “Anti-Hero” singer prompted 35,000 new voter registrations. Not to mention, Swift has been even more vocal about her political perspectives, further influencing her Swifties to think about their own POVs.

Needless to say, Swifties recognize the singer’s power and now politicians are paying attention too.