"All it takes is being human to become a victim, " says lawyer Carrie Goldberg, addressing the dangers of deepfake porn in the AI era. Revenge porn, or the nonconsensual sharing of sexual images, has existed since the early days of the internet. However, the rise of AI tools makes it possible for anyone to become a target of this harassment, even without having taken or shared a nude photo. AI technology can now place a person’s face onto a naked body or alter photos to appear as if someone is unclothed. In the past year, victims of AI-generated nonconsensual porn have included well-known figures like Taylor Swift and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as high school students. When someone discovers that they or their child are the subjects of deepfake porn, the experience is horrifying and overwhelming, says Goldberg, who leads C. A. Goldberg Law, a New York firm representing sex crime and online harassment victims. "This is especially true for young people who may struggle to cope and find the internet an intimidating and unfathomable place, " she said. Fortunately, there are steps that individuals targeted by this harassment can take to protect themselves, and sources for assistance, Goldberg shared in an interview on CNN's new tech podcast, Terms of Service with Clare Duffy. Terms of Service seeks to clarify the emerging technologies that people encounter daily. (Listen to the full conversation with Goldberg here. ) Goldberg advised that a person's first step when targeted by AI-generated sexual images — even if it seems counterintuitive — should be to take screenshots. "The instinct is to erase it from the internet immediately, " Goldberg said. "But preserving evidence is crucial if you want the option to report it criminally. " Following this, victims can use forms provided by platforms like Google, Meta, and Snapchat to request the removal of such images.

Nonprofits like StopNCII. org and Take It Down can also help remove images from multiple platforms simultaneously, though not all sites cooperate. In August, a bipartisan group of senators penned an open letter urging nearly a dozen tech companies, including X and Discord, to participate in these programs. Addressing nonconsensual explicit images and deepfakes has garnered uncommon bipartisan agreement. Teens and parents impacted by AI-generated porn testified at a Capitol Hill hearing, where Republican Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a bill, supported by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and others, to criminalize such publications and mandate social media platforms to remove reported content. Currently, victims must navigate varying state laws. Some states lack laws against creating or sharing explicit deepfakes of adults, though AI-generated images of children usually fall under child sexual abuse material laws. "My advice for potential offenders is simply, don't be morally reprehensible by exploiting someone's image for humiliation, " Goldberg said. "There's little victims can do to prevent this. In our digital society, complete safety is unattainable, but it's up to us all to treat others decently. "