ACTION ALERT-URGENT: Urge your Representative to Ask House leaders to Bring to a Vote the DEFIANCE Act (H.R. 7569) and the Take It Down Act (H.R. 8989)

THE ISSUE:

With less than a week of business remaining before the end of the 118th Congress, it is essential these bills get passed. Both bills have already been passed by the Senate. House leadership needs to schedule floor votes ASAP.

Non-consensual image-based sexual abuse is a problem that is affecting women and children across the country at an alarming rate. One in four women have reported that they have been subjected to non-consensual disclosure of a private or intimate image and researchers have noted that this type of sexual abuse is often linked to other major types of abuse, such as domestic violence and sexual assault. With the growth of AI and public websites, this type of abuse invades the privacy of all those that experience it and can cause detrimental problems to individuals’ mental health. There needs to be lasting and sustainable change enacted in order to ensure that with the continued growth of technology, there are protections in place to ensure that no woman or child endures the pain that non-consensual image-based sexual abuse can inflict.

WHY IT MATTERS:

The bipartisan DEFIANCE Act of 2024 (H.R. 7569/S.3696) would prevent non-consensual deepfake pornography by empowering victims to act. This bill would allow individuals to take action by challenging the creation, distribution, and solicitation of deepfake pornography that was made without the consent of the person depicted. This bill would cover both adults and children.

The other bipartisan bill, the Take It Down Act (H.R. 8989/S.4569), would immobilize deep-fakes on websites and networks by requiring covered platforms to remove non-consensual online intimate depictions. Both of these bills would impose sweeping federal regulations on non-consensual image-based sexual abuse and would ensure that we are taking another step in the right direction towards protecting women and children in the age of the internet.

STATUS:

Both of these bipartisan bills have passed the Senate, the DEFIANCE Act passing in July and the Take It Down Act passing in December. There are only four more working days left that the 118th Congress is in session, so it is pertinent that these bills get passed in the House in the next week in order for these vital protections to be implemented now.

YOUR MESSAGE:

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW. THE 118TH CONGRESS IS ENDING SOON AND IT IS VITAL THAT THESE BILLS ARE PASSED BEFORE THEN.

  • Please vote YES on The DEFIANCE Act of 2024 (H.R. 7569) and the Take It Down Act (H.R. 8989).
  • These bills would provide vital federal protections for women and children by allowing individuals to take action against deepfake pornography and force websites to take it down when it does appear.
  • The abuse of privacy that women and children face from the exploitative nature of non-consensual image-based sexual abuse is a gross violation of their rights and needs to be addressed at a federal level.

The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121; a list of representatives appears here https://www.house.gov/representatives . You can also go to the representatives’ websites and enter a message or obtain their in-state office phone number and call to deliver your message.

Thanks for everything that you do for NOW.