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Floor Speech

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Ms. LUMMIS. We must combat the deeply harmful practice of nonconsensual deepfake pornography. It is as serious as the gentleman from Illinois just described.

But I am troubled that this bill, as currently drafted, is overly broad in scope. The expansive definitions and wide net of liability in this bill could lead to unintended consequences that stifle American technological innovation and development.

By extending liability to third-party platforms that may unknowingly host this illicit content, I worry this bill places an untenable burden on online services to constantly police user-generated posts. Even platforms making good-faith efforts to remove illegal deepfakes could become inundated with frivolous litigation.

A more prudent approach would be to tailor legislation to focus on publishers and knowing distributors. And such legislation exists. It is the Cruz-Klobuchar bill. We must ensure that, in our noble efforts to prevent abuse, we do not inadvertently impose overbroad restrictions and spur excessive lawsuits that would chill the development of American emerging technologies.

I stand ready to work with my colleagues to find this crucial balance.

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