Klobuchar Calls for Legislation on Deepfakes After Controversial Video
Senator Amy Klobuchar is advocating for new regulations to tackle “deepfakes” following the emergence of a strikingly realistic AI-generated video that seems to make scandalous comments about Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Jeans advertisements.
The Minnesota Democrat sought to clarify things by appearing on the New York Times opinion page Wednesday, especially after the video circulated online, presenting her as if she were speaking at a recent Senate Judiciary Subcommittee meeting about Data Privacy.
In her response, Klobuchar condemned the manipulated footage.
“AI’s Deepfark showcased me saying ‘perfect T-Tties’ and lamenting that Democrats ‘are too fat to wear jeans or too ugh to go outside’,” she pointed out.
She mentioned that while she could quickly assert that someone had created a Deep Fark from the hearing footage, the video’s realistic appearance was hard to ignore.
“The video claimed, ‘If Republicans have beautiful girls with perfect T-tties in their ads, we also want Democrat ads, do you know?’ This bizarre version eerily mirrored her voice and speaking style.
It continued with unsettling commentary, saying, ‘We want to have a loud twist on the ugly fat bitch in a pink wig and long-standing fake nails on a cop’s car at Waffle House.’ The video went on, ‘Just because we are a party of ugly people doesn’t mean we can’t feature in advertising.’”
Klobuchar noted that the fake video referenced the contentious American Eagle Ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney.
Using the opportunity, she emphasized the need for legislation managing AI-generated videos featuring real individuals.
The video sparked significant outrage on the left, with commentators slamming the Panny commercial as “Nazi propaganda.”
Klobuchar reported that she attempted to reach out to various social media platforms where the video was shared, but the outcomes were mixed. TikTok removed it, while Meta labeled it as AI, but she felt the platforms didn’t provide much assistance beyond suggesting that X might identify it as fake through a community note.
This entire incident motivated her to propose the No Fakes Act, which has bipartisan support.
The proposed law aims to grant individuals the right to request the removal of deepfakes depicting their likenesses or voices from social media, with specific speech exceptions protected under the First Amendment.
Klobuchar also noted that the bill builds on the success of the recently enacted Take It Down Act, which established a process for removing nonconsensual intimate AI-generated content and criminalized actions related to it.
The new bill has co-sponsors, including Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
She concluded, “The internet has an endless appetite for provocative, controversial content. Those who create these videos are unlikely to stop, even when it comes to Sydney Sweeney jeans.”
