Senators Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are in a kerfuffle over a bill targeting the dissemination of AI deepfake porn, and they have very different ideas of who’s at fault.
On the Senate floor yesterday, Cruz attempted to pass the bipartisan Take It Down Act – which criminalizes publishing nonconsensual sexually exploitative images, including those made with AI – via unanimous consent. Booker, however, objected and prevented the bill from advancing. (Under unanimous consent rules, only one senator needs to object to bring a halt to proceedings.)
According to Cruz, Booker’s objection was a politically motivated stunt against a bill backed by many of his own Democratic colleagues, a stunt for which Booker has no reasonable explanation. But according to Booker, it’s Cruz who’s motivated by politics, having rejected Booker’s attempts to negotiate on the bill and address the issues that he and other senators have.
“[Senator Booker] agrees that we need laws that protect people from harassment, hold wrongdoers accountable, and compel platforms to quickly remove this content,” a Booker spokesperson said. “These laws must be written with strength and care, to prevent unintended consequences. Senator Cruz refused to work together to resolve Senator Booker and other Senators’ legitimate concerns with the bill.”
Specifically, the bill puts forward what Booker believes to be overly broad definitions of terms like “deepfake” and “harm” – ones that could unintentionally result in prosecutions beyond the intended scope of the bill. Those are concerns that multiple senators seem to have, not just Booker.
Cruz, though, claimed on the Senate floor that Booker had had many chances to register objections or make changes to the bill but declined to do so.
“Nearly two weeks ago was when I circulated this amendment to both sides of the aisle, and it cleared 99 senators,” Cruz said. “He had a week and a half to object… The language in the bill is word-for-word verbatim [the same as] the language you agreed to, you have voted for, and you negotiated.”
Following Booker’s blockade of the bill, Cruz took to Twitter to accuse him of working to assist his opponent, Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), whose Senate campaign Booker is publicly supporting. Booker’s true motive in his objection, Cruz argued, may have been to deny Cruz a legislative win that he could tout back at home.
“Did Cory Booker – who is campaigning for Colin Allred – block a Ted Cruz bill as a campaign favor to Allred?” asked GOP strategist Matt Wolking in a post retweeted by Cruz.
Booker’s objection also drew a harsh rebuke from Francesca Mani, a teenage Westfield native who became an anti-deepfake activist after she and other girls at her high school found themselves the victims of AI pornography. Mani, who has collaborated with Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) and other members of Congress in the past to address nonconsensual deepfakes, said that the Take It Down Act would go a long way towards bringing safety and justice to those affected by deepfake porn.
“By blocking the TAKE IT DOWN Act, my elected official, Senator Cory Booker, failed me and my fellow victims and has left us vulnerable,” Mani said. “This is very disappointing. I am asking, why, Mr. Booker? Make no mistake, without this legislation swiftly becoming a law, teens like me will continue to have no accountability.”
But Booker insists that he is highly interested in passing a bill protecting Mani and others like her – Cruz just needs to come to the negotiating table first and make sure everyone’s concerns are addressed, he said.
“It’s clear from Senator Cruz’s social media posts that his floor stunt was not about advancing bipartisan legislation, but a cynical attempt to score political points in his tight race with Colin Allred,” Booker’s spokesperson said. “Senator Cruz is trying to create controversy where there has been none and should only be cooperation and collaboration – something he clearly has no interest in. Even so, Senator Booker remains committed to working together to solve this problem and others.”
This story was updated at 2:55 p.m. with additional comment from Cruz.