- Social media platform X is currently blocking users from searching for Taylor Swift’s name, prompting speculation about the reason behind this restriction.
- X recently faced controversy when AI-generated explicit images of Taylor Swift were circulated on the platform without her consent, leading to calls for legislation against such deepfake creations.
- The White House, under President Joe Biden, is also examining the issue of deepfakes and online harassment, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasizing the need for legislative action to protect women and girls who are often targets of such abuse.
Additional Coverage:
Social media users on X are currently unable to search for Taylor Swift’s name, according to Us Weekly. If someone types the pop star’s name into the search bar, they will receive an error message instructing them to reload the page. A second note apologizes for the inconvenience. No official statements have been made by either X or its owner Elon Musk regarding this incident, but it comes shortly after the site was hit by an AI-generated photo scandal.
The scandal involved fake explicit images of Taylor Swift being circulated on X. These images, created using artificial intelligence without her consent, were taken down by X after 17 hours amidst reports that Swift was considering legal action. SAG-AFTRA, a union representing performers, expressed their concerns about the spread of such fake images and called for legislation to make their creation and dissemination illegal.
SAG-AFTRA also showed support for the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, a bill proposed by New York Congressman Joe Morelle to combat the exploitation of NSFW images created from fake photos. This support echoes the union’s previous efforts to protect performers from AI, which led to an actors’ strike in 2023. The White House, under President Joe Biden’s administration, is also examining the issue and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Congress should take legislative action to address these problems.
Jean-Pierre emphasized the disproportionate impact of lax enforcement on women and girls, who are often targets of online harassment and abuse. The White House had previously launched a task force in 2022 to tackle online harassment, but Jean-Pierre referred to it as a “patchwork approach.” The task force aims to develop recommendations for prevention, response, and protection efforts against technology-facilitated gender-based violence in consultation with survivors, advocates, educators, experts, and the private sector.