Debbie Dingell Sends Clear Warning About Deepfake Harassment: ‘They Target Women And Children’

3/28/2025

During a House Energy And Commerce Committee hearing on examining harms online on Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) spoke at length about the importance of the 'Take It Down Act'.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you. All right, next we have the, let's see, who's next on the Democrats side?

00:06Ms. Dingell, there she is. Okay, Ms. Dingell, you're recognized for five minutes of questioning.

00:11Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start by saying thank you to all of the witnesses who I have worked with

00:17for a long time before I ever got to Congress. And like all of my colleagues, both sides of the aisle,

00:24we are horrified by the fact that there were death threats. I do not like the normalizing

00:31of violence or bullying or anything we're seeing, and we're here today because we are fighting that.

00:38And when I look at the parents, you need to know people on both sides care deeply. That's why we've

00:44been trying for years to get legislation through. I have sat with parents. My own sister died of

00:51suicide. I understand that pain, and there isn't a member in this room that doesn't care about you,

00:57and I want to make that really clear. And what we really want to do is actually get something done,

01:04and I need to say that. I'm proud to co-lead the bipartisan Bicameral Take It Down Act,

01:11which recently passed the Senate unanimously and, for the record, was included in the end of the

01:18year budget bill before it got killed. I won't say who it was because I won't make it partisan,

01:24but we've got to work together because we know this has to get done. And my colleagues here

01:31have brought up the firing of these two commissioners because it happened because

01:37he didn't like them, and we've got to be clear here. The FTC is an independent agency, and what

01:44happened is blatantly unconstitutional, and independent agencies are intended to be insulated

01:50from political motivations. And this is the organization that's supposed to be keeping us safe

01:56without a functioning FTC. How can we expect to enforce the Take It Down Act if it becomes law?

02:04And I'm asking every colleague on the other side of the aisle to pledge to work to get this done.

02:10Please, we've got to stop the politics. We've got to get it done. How do we go after bad actors, protect

02:16consumers, and hold platforms accountable? The simple answer is we cannot. Gutting the FTC means

02:24gutting our ability to protect kids and women online. And as artificial technology advances,

02:31so do new forms of abuse. Primarily, who do they target? Women and children.

02:39Deepfake pornography is being used as a tool for harassment, humiliation, and intimidation,

02:47particularly against women who speak out and advocate for themselves or for children. That's

02:54what happened to you all today, and not a member at this dais thinks that that is okay. I want to

02:59make that really, really clear. The Take It Down Act provides victims with a path to justice,

03:07ensures these images are removed, and holds perpetrators accountable. I want to work with

03:13all stakeholders to pass the strongest bill possible and get this bill across the finish

03:19line. And I'm begging my colleagues to help me do this. If we succeed in passing this important

03:26legislation, we've got to make sure that we've got a body that's going to enforce it so that we

03:31don't have women unprotected against this growing threat. One of our most important jobs in Congress

03:37is to protect people, including from the growing harms online. And I'll tell you, it's only getting

03:45worse. It's just getting worse by the day. So Commissioner Slaughter, let me ask you this

03:51question. Without a fully independent functional FTC, do you believe the agency's current authority

03:58is sufficient to effectively enforce the Take It Down Act and hold platforms accountable,

04:03or do we need to take additional action to strengthen potential enforcement capabilities?

04:11Thank you. Look, I would also like to not be here talking about my employment status. I would like

04:18to be here talking about this important work that the FTC has been doing and will be doing in the

04:25future to address these critically, critically important issues for American families, for

04:31parents across the country. Cyberbullying doesn't distinguish between Republicans and Democrats,

04:37blue states and red states. This is something that affects all of us, and I agree we all need

04:43to be working together on. With respect to specific legislation, I think an important role

04:49at the FTC has been to take the laws that Congress has passed, to faithfully administer them, and then

04:55to go back to Congress if we think something needs to be improved or leaves gaps.

05:00And I think we've had some of those conversations around privacy generally. We've had those

05:04conversations around COPPA. If Congress passes COSA, if Congress passes Take It Down,

05:12you certainly have my commitment to faithfully administer those laws and let you know if there's

05:18more that the FTC needs. Mr. Chairman, I'm out of time. Let's just pledge to work with each other

05:26and get these bills done. And these children's memories, these beautiful children here,

05:34the pictures of these beautiful children, thank you very much for coming, and you are going to

05:39make a difference, and we are going to work together to get this done.

Debbie Dingell Sends Clear Warning About Deepfake Harassment: ‘They Target Women And Children’

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