The White House has raised concerns about the increasing presence of sexually explicit AI-generated images featuring Taylor Swift and urged Congress to consider legislation to tackle the problem. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed the importance of social media platforms taking more decisive action to curb the spread of such content, calling the situation alarming.
Jean-Pierre underscored the responsibility of social media companies to enforce their own policies to combat the dissemination of fake and non-consensual intimate imagery. Recently, fake sexually explicit images of Swift have been circulating widely on X, previously known as Twitter, amassing millions of views and reposts. Additionally, manipulated images portraying Swift and other celebrities endorsing products have surfaced.
X has pledged to remove these images and take measures against the accounts responsible for their dissemination. Nonetheless, the controversy has prompted bipartisan calls for new protective measures from Congress.
Jean-Pierre mentioned that President Joe Biden is collaborating with AI companies to explore unilateral efforts, such as watermarking generated images to make it easier to identify fakes. The Biden administration has also established a task force to address online harassment and abuse, while the Justice Department has set up a hotline for individuals affected by image-based sexual abuse.