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Fake explicit Taylor Swift Images: Lawmakers step up calls to regulate AI

By Karen Travers and Emmanuelle Saliba, ABC News Jan 26, 2024 | 3:16 PM
Prasit photo/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The White House said they are “alarmed” by what happened to Taylor Swift online this week as explicit artificial intelligence generated photos of the singer were posted.

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News White House Correspondent Karen L. Travers that Congress should move forward on legislation to address deep fake sexually explicit content – and used the word “alarming” five times in her answer.

“We are alarmed by the reports of the…circulation of images that you just laid out – of false images to be more exact, and it is alarming,” she said.

“While social media companies make their own independent decisions about content management, we believe they have an important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation, and non-consensual, intimate imagery of real people,” Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre said there should be legislation declaring “Congress should take – should take legislative action.”

Karine also noted that “lax enforcement” online disproportionately impacts women and girls – “sadly, who are the overwhelming targets — the overwhelming targets of online harassment, and also abuse.”

She highlighted some of the action the administration has taken recently on these issues including: launching a task force to address online harassment and abuse and the Department of Justice launching the first national 24/7 helpline for survivors of image based sexual abuse.

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