On February 4th, California’s 16th District Democratic Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and 72nd District Republican Assembly Member Diane Dixon collaborated to introduce AB1705, the “RECLAIM Act”, aimed at protecting the privacy of adults and children by preventing the harmful spread of their images and videos online, as well as requiring pornographic website operators to verify that explicit sexual content uploaded has been consented to by all parties involved.
The acronym “RECLAIM” stands for “Removing Exploitative Content: Legal Accountability for Image Misuse”, targeting pornographic internet websites, with the bill currently pending discussion and voting in committees.
“Every day, countless California residents, especially women and children, become victims of the dissemination of sexual images on the internet without their knowledge or consent,” said Bauer-Kahan. “The proliferation of ‘deepfake’ videos generated by artificial intelligence (AI) has exacerbated this crisis exponentially. I am honored to push forward this crucial legislation in a bipartisan manner to ensure that platforms profiting from such content can no longer hide anonymously and evade accountability.”
Dixon had previously introduced the AB392 bill to protect personal private photos from dissemination but it did not pass. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Assembly Member Bauer-Kahan again this year to address this issue,” she said, highlighting the proposal’s focus on protecting minors and ensuring informed consent.
“With the prevalence of the internet and the emergence of AI tools, non-consensual explicit content can easily be uploaded online. This important legislation will ensure that uploaders take responsibility for the content they share on pornographic websites,” Dixon stated. The RECLAIM Act will also ensure that Californians’ photos are never used to create realistic or sexually suggestive images through AI-generated ‘deepfake’ or ‘strip’ image applications.
The proposal will require adult website operators to: 1) make diligent efforts to ensure that explicit pornographic content does not contain any non-consensual scenes; 2) verify that users uploading content have obtained consent from all parties involved; 3) require users to submit statements and assume legal responsibility for providing false evidence, proving that all parties involved have consented to the creation and publication of the content.
The bill also includes provisions for individual victims to bring civil suits, with each violation leading to a maximum compensation of $75,000, and prosecutors being able to take legal action with fines of $25,000 per offense.
According to Dixon’s press release, this is an essential and long-overdue bill. In this highly technological age, it is easy for people to upload non-consensual explicit content, with 1 in 12 individuals having been subjected to image-based sexual abuse, and once uploaded, those contents are nearly impossible to remove.
Bauer-Kahan’s press release stated that the internet has fueled the increase in images of children being sexually abused and women being sexually assaulted. Recent reports have revealed that mainstream platforms host millions of sexual assault videos. The rise of generative AI has exacerbated the issue further, with ‘strip’ image programs and AI chatbots capable of generating realistic nude or pornographic images from fully clothed photos in just a few seconds.
Just this month, the AI tool Grok generated around 3 million sexualized images in less than two weeks, including 23,000 images that appear to depict children, resulting in tens of thousands of women worldwide becoming victims. Women who publicly speak about their abuse are subjected to further harm from additional AI-generated images.
Grok is a generative AI chatbot developed by xAI company, founded by Musk in 2023. Musk, one of the eleven co-founders of OpenAI in 2015, originally served as co-chairman with Sam Altman, but left in 2018 due to differing visions.
The press release also highlighted that despite increasing awareness of issues such as ‘deepfakes’ and ‘strip’ programs, and growing media coverage, online attacks against women public figures such as activists, journalists, and lawmakers continue to intensify.
Nearly three-quarters of women public figures surveyed have experienced online violence, with over a third stating that it has led to reduced participation and exposure online, potentially causing them to withdraw from social media or reconsider seeking re-election.
Furthermore, the impact of this online violence on vulnerable groups such as women is particularly severe. Victims may suffer severe psychological trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicidal tendencies.