Taylor Swift searches return to X after temporary block: ‘We will continue to be vigilant’

Taylor Swift has not publicly addressed the explicit AI images that used her likeness. As of Monday afternoon, searching Swift’s full name in quotes or adding additional words at the end of the search phrase “Taylor Swift” conjured up posts, replies and images as usual — including graphic deepfakes of Swift. “The spread of AI-generated explicit images of Taylor Swift is appalling — and sadly, it’s happening to women everywhere, every day,” New York Rep. Joe Morelle said in a Thursday tweet. “It’s sexual exploitation,” he added, before touting his proposed Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, a bill that would make it illegal to share deepfake pornography without the consent of individuals being portrayed. “So while social media companies make their own independent decisions about content management, we believe they have an important role to play in enforcing, enforcing their own rules to prevent the spread of misinformation, and nonconsensual, intimate imagery of real people.” SAG-AFTRA, which laid out terms concerning artificial intelligence in its 2023 contract, dubbed the AI images of Swift “upsetting, harmful, and deeply concerning.” “The development and dissemination of fake images — especially those of a lewd nature — without someone’s consent must be made illegal,” the union said in a Friday statement.