PHILADELPHIA, PA – A South Jersey woman, Alyssa Rosa, is speaking out after being targeted by a malicious online attack. She claims to have been the victim of a deepfake, where a perpetrator used artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexually explicit images of her, without her consent. The images were then distributed to her friends.
Rosa shared her story as a warning to others, saying, “I was mad. I was mad. I channeled that anger into action.” She discovered the perpetrator was a man she befriended on a social dating app, who also had access to her Facebook photos.
Rosa is worried about the potential extent of the offensive content, as she only saw a limited portion of it. She is advocating for stronger laws to protect victims of deepfakes. “That’s just way too much power for someone to have access to my likeness and do whatever they want,” she said.
U.S. Representative Madeleine Dean has introduced the bipartisan No Fakes Act, which aims to help protect victims of deepfakes. The legislation would give individuals the right to their voice and likeness. Dean has also supported other bills, including the Shield Act, which would hold individuals responsible for creating and distributing deepfakes, and the Take Down Act, which would require social media companies to remove sexually exploited images, including deepfakes, within 48 hours of being notified by a victim.
Pennsylvania is set to implement a new law, House Bill 125, later this month, which prohibits the use of AI to generate child sexual abuse images. Rosa is hoping that laws like these will be put in place to protect victims like herself.
