Cape News

In a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, criticized Senate leadership for failing to take action to safeguard Americans and the U.S. electoral process from the negative impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Senator Hawley expressed his concerns, stating, "Let's not allow these same companies that control the social media technology in this country, that control the news in this country to also now use AI to further their hammer-hold on the United States of America and on our political process."

Highlighting the rise of sexually explicit “deepfake” imagery online, Senator Hawley urged his Senate colleagues to support legislation that would empower Americans to take legal action against those responsible for producing or hosting illegal deepfakes. He emphasized the importance of accountability, saying, "We have got to allow Americans, ordinary Americans, individual citizens, we have got to allow them to get into court, and to hold accountable legally companies who are producing or hosting this content."

Senator Hawley has been actively involved in introducing legislative measures to protect American users and voters from the potential threats posed by AI technology. Alongside Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), he introduced the bipartisan Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, aimed at prohibiting the use of AI to create misleading content depicting federal candidates in political ads.

Additionally, Senator Hawley collaborated with Senator Blumenthal to introduce the bipartisan No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act, which seeks to equip consumers with the necessary tools to shield themselves from harmful content generated by advancements in AI technology.